monk

UK: /ˈmʌŋk/ US: /mʌŋk/ ,(mungk)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

monk /mʌŋk/   n. [countable]

1. Religion a man who is a member of a religious order, usually living in a monastery.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

monk  (mungk), n. 

1. Religion (in Christianity) a man who has withdrawn from the world for religious reasons, esp. as a member of an order of cenobites living according to a particular rule and under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
2. Religion (in any religion) a man who is a member of a monastic order:
   a Buddhist monk.
3. [Print.] a dark area on a printed page caused by uneven inking of the plate or type. Cf. friar (def. 2).

• Greek monachós hermit, noun, nominal use of adjective, adjectival: solitary, equivalent. to món(os) alone + -achos adjective, adjectival suffix
• Late Latin monachus
• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English munuc

Synonyms

• 1. brother.
  Monk, friar refer to members of special male groups whose lives are devoted to the service of the church, esp. in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox denominations. A monk is properly a member of a monastery, under a superior; he is bound by a vow of stability, and is a co-owner of the community property of the monastery. Since the Reformation,
  monk and friar have been used as if they were the same. A friar is, however, strictly speaking, a member of a mendicant order, whose members are not attached to a monastery and own no community property.

Monk  (mungk), n. 

The•lo•ni•ous  (thə lō′nē əs) (Sphere,) 1917–1982, U.S. jazz pianist and composer.
1. Biographical George. See Monck, George. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

monk / mʌŋk/ noun

1. a male member of a religious community bound by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
   Related adjective(s): monastic

Etymology: Old English munuc, from Late Latin monachus, from Late Greek: solitary (man), from Greek monos alone

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Monk / mʌŋk/ noun

1. Thelonious (Sphere) ( θəˈləʊnɪəs ). 1920–82, US jazz pianist and composer
2. a variant spelling of (George) Monck