monolith

UK: /ˈmɒnəlɪθ/ US: /ˈmɑnəlɪθ/ ,(mon′ə lith)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mon•o•lith /ˈmɑnəlɪθ/   n. [countable]

1. a column, etc., formed of a single block of stone.
2. something having a large, unchanging quality or character:
   the monolith of the bureaucracy.

mon•o•lith•ic, adj. See -lith.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mon•o•lith  (mon′ə lith), n. 

1. an obelisk, column, large statue, etc., formed of a single block of stone.
2. a single block or piece of stone of considerable size, esp. when used in architecture or sculpture.
3. something having a uniform, massive, redoubtable, or inflexible quality or character.

• Greek monólithos made of one stone. See mono-, -lith
• Latin monolithus
• 1820–30

mon′o•lith′ism, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

monolith / ˈmɒnəlɪθ/ noun

1. a large block of stone or anything that resembles one in appearance, intractability, etc
2. a statue, obelisk, column, etc, cut from one block of stone
3. a large hollow foundation piece sunk as a caisson and having a number of compartments that are filled with concrete when it has reached its correct position

Etymology: 19th Century: via French from Greek monolithos made from a single stone