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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

monolith

/ˈmɑn.əˌlɪθ/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:39
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What does monolith mean?

noun

  1. A large, single block of stone which is a natural feature; or a block of stone or other similar material used in architecture and sculpture, especially one carved into a monument in ancient times.
  2. (figuratively) Anything massive, uniform, and unmovable, especially a towering and impersonal cultural, political, or social organization or structure.
  3. A substrate having many tiny channels that is cast as a single piece, which is used as a stationary phase for chromatography, as a catalytic surface, etc.
More meanings (5)

noun

  1. A dead tree whose height and size have been reduced by breaking off or cutting its branches.

verb

  1. To create (something) as, or convert (one or more things) into, a monolith.
  2. To cast (one or more concrete components) in a single piece with no joints.
  3. To reduce the height and size of (a dead tree) by breaking off or cutting its branches.

proper noun

  1. An unincorporated community in Kern County, California, United States.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈmɑn.əˌlɪθ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Thuvia of Ptarth watched the shadow behind the monolith at the opening to the avenue opposite her.
Edgar Rice BurroughsThuvia, maid of MarsProject Gutenberg ebook #72
In the field through which you trudge knee-deep in drift rises the "Kay Stane," looking to-day like a tall monolith of whitest marble.
Alexander H. (Alexander Hay) JappRobert Louis Stevenson: A Record, an Estimate, and a MemorialProject Gutenberg ebook #590
More book examples (2)
Carnac, in upper Egypt, is a monolith of the same symbolic character.
Eliza Burt GambleThe God-Idea of the Ancients; Or, Sex in ReligionProject Gutenberg ebook #639
The place took its name from a stone pillar which stood there, a strange rude monolith, from a stratum unknown in any local quarry, on which was roughly carved a human hand.
Thomas HardyTess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure WomanProject Gutenberg ebook #110