# monolith

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈmɒn.ə.lɪθ/ · frequency rank #36,678

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

## Etymology
The noun is borrowed from French monolithe (“object made from a single block of stone”), from Middle French monolythe (“made from a single block of stone”) (rare), and from their etymon Latin monolithus (“made from a single block of stone”), from Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos, “made from a single block of stone”), from μονο- (mono-, prefix meaning ‘alone; single’) (from μόνος (mónos, “alone; only, unique”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”)) + λίθος (líthos, “a stone; stone as a substance”); analysable as mono- + -lith. The English word is cognate with German monolith (“made from a single block of stone”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **monolithic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/monolith-vs-monolithic)

## Common misspellings (12)
`mmonolith`, `mnoolith`, `monloith`, `monnolith`, `monoilth`, `monoliht`, `monolithh`, `monolitth`, `monollith`, `monoltih`, `moonlith`, `omnolith`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/monolith