Meaning & use
monk
Last updated
UK/mʌŋk/
US/mʌŋk/
Meaning
nouncountable
A man who lives in a religious community, devoting his life to prayer and service under vows.
Grammar: Countable: a monk, two monks.
Patterns
- a Buddhist monk
- a Christian monk
- become a monk
The monk spent hours in prayer each day.
He became a monk after finishing university.
The monastery is home to thirty monks.
Word forms
| plural | monks |
|---|
Common combinations
- Buddhist monk
- The Buddhist monk walked slowly along the road.
- become a monk
- He decided to become a monk at the age of twenty.
- a community of monks
- The island has a small community of monks.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- monastic adjective
- Relating to monks or monastery life.
- monastery noun
- A place where monks live and pray together.
- monasticism noun
- The way of life followed by monks.
Commonly confused: monk or nun? monk or monkey?
monk vs nun
A nun is a woman who lives a similar religious life; a monk is a man.
monk vs monkey
A monkey is an animal. The words sound similar but are completely different in meaning.
Practice
He left his job and became a ______, living in a monastery.
Choose one answer.
A man who lives in a monastery is a monk. 'Nun' is a woman, 'monkey' is an animal, and 'monastery' is the building, not the person.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “monk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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