monster

1 of 2

noun

mon·​ster ˈmän(t)-stər How to pronounce monster (audio)
plural monsters
1
a
: an animal of strange or terrifying shape
a mythical monster
a sea monster
… visualize this scaleless monster, eight or nine feet long, sprawling in the shade by the side of the mud pools …W. E. Swinton
b
: one unusually large for its kind
That truck is a monster.
That's why I was born in my grandmother's house—a grand, brick Federal monster of a house.John Irving
2
a
: an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure
b
: one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character
an immoral monster
3
: a threatening force
the same monster—Destiny … that rolls every civilization to doomW. L. Sullivan
4
: something monstrous
especially : a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty
a cruel monster of a father
5
: one that is highly successful
That movie was a monster at the box office.

monster

2 of 2

adjective

: enormous or impressive especially in size, extent, or numbers

Examples of monster in a Sentence

Noun That car is a monster. Inflation has become an economic monster. Adjective The movie turned out to be a monster hit.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
There’s a great picture of this monster, monster thing. Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 20 Mar. 2024 The set also comes with some other iconic D&D monsters. Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024 Players work together to strategize and slay the monsters by rolling dice and choosing cards. Deanna McCormack, Parents, 19 Mar. 2024 And in August 2019 a monster grapefruit broke two records and became the world’s heaviest and largest grapefruit by circumference. Jack Guy, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 This rambunctious tale of not-so-scary scary monsters is utterly charming, totally surreal, and wonderfully familiar. Ew Staff, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2024 Random encounters seem to point her in the right direction, but what was hoped to be a journey of self-discovery gradually becomes a hunt for the monster itself. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 YouTube 08 of 30 Dracula (1931) The OG Universal monster movie has very little to do with Bram Stoker’s 1897 original work. Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024 In so many ways, Christopher Nolan’s intricate, making-of-the-bomb biopic Oppenheimer and Japanese director Takashi Yamazaki’s monster blockbuster Godzilla Minus One couldn’t be more different. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Ready thy spoons and clear some freezer space for a monster new flavor from Blue Bell! Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 6 July 2023 View Photos Sure, 37-inch Nitto Recon Grappler A/T tires and a 2.5-inch Lynx suspension lift help the Quadratec JTe feel extra capable, but the fact that the mini–monster truck is believable as a real two-door Gladiator is a testament to the job done by builder Greg Henderson. Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, 16 June 2023 That fish also came from the River Po, which along with Spain’s Rio Ebro, has given up more monster Wels catfish than anywhere else on Earth. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 June 2023 Warm water is the fuel that helps hurricanes sustain themselves and to occasionally become monster storms, so such unusually warm water is a major worry. WSJ, 25 May 2023 East Central sophomore Isabella Hernandez had a monster second-round playoff series against Dripping Springs, going 8-for-13 with four runs batted in. Jeffrey Perkins, San Antonio Express-News, 13 May 2023 Hot disks of dust and gas swirling down the gravitational drains of monster black holes are what drive quasars, some of the brightest objects in the universe. Bydaniel Clery, science.org, 28 Mar. 2023 As Yennefer runs off with Ciri, Geralt stays behind, and The Witcher delivers one of the better non-monster fight scenes of its entire run. Scott Meslow, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2021 This set of beach toys from Kohl's is only $10, and features an adorably themed set of tools like a sifter, rake, shovel, mini-monster truck and more. Felicity Warner, USA TODAY, 29 June 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monster.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English monstre, from Anglo-French, from Latin monstrum omen, monster, from monēre to warn — more at mind

Adjective

from atributive use of monster entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1837, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of monster was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near monster

Cite this Entry

“Monster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monster. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

monster

1 of 2 noun
mon·​ster ˈmän(t)-stər How to pronounce monster (audio)
1
: an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure
2
: a strange or horrible creature
3
: something unusually large
4
: an extremely wicked or cruel person

monster

2 of 2 adjective
: very large : enormous

More from Merriam-Webster on monster

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