mon·ster
ˈmän(t)-stər 
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
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
John Irving2
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 doom—W. L. Sullivan
W. L. Sullivan4
: 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.
: enormous or impressive especially in size, extent, or numbers
Synonyms
Noun
Adjective
- astronomical
- astronomic
- Brobdingnagian
- bumper
- colossal
- cosmic
- cosmical
- cyclopean
- elephantine
- enormous
- galactic
- gargantuan
- giant
- gigantesque
- gigantic
- grand
- herculean
- heroic
- heroical
- Himalayan
- huge
- humongous
- humungous
- immense
- jumbo
- king-size
- king-sized
- leviathan
- mammoth
- massive
- mega
- mighty
- monstrous
- monumental
- mountainous
- oceanic
- pharaonic
- planetary
- prodigious
- super
- super-duper
- supersize
- supersized
- titanic
- tremendous
- vast
- vasty
- walloping
- whacking
- whopping
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 WebRebecca Rubin, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Wilmer Flores also has two, but Michael Conforto, who had a monster series, hit a grand slam on Saturday, so that takes the cake.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
Giant monster battles are fun and humans are meh in mega fight-fest.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Beyond Berk, Epic Universe will be able to visit The Wizard World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, a Universal monsters world called Dark Universe, and Celestial Park, which Universal describes as a celestial world between worlds.
—Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
But cargo ships did not always look like the monster vessels of today.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
The New Empire brings back those two A-list monsters, GvK director Adam Wingard, and the previous film’s cast members Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Kaylee Hottle.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2024
There are too many monsters and, as more and more are introduced, character falls away.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
The Flemming Set Another monster 10-pointer, this deer’s sheds were picked up in southeastern Saskatchewan.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 27 Mar. 2024
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
Noun
After its better-than-expected debut, Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s monster tentpole has generated $95 million domestically and $210 worldwide to date.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Wilmer Flores also has two, but Michael Conforto, who had a monster series, hit a grand slam on Saturday, so that takes the cake.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
Giant monster battles are fun and humans are meh in mega fight-fest.
—Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Beyond Berk, Epic Universe will be able to visit The Wizard World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, a Universal monsters world called Dark Universe, and Celestial Park, which Universal describes as a celestial world between worlds.
—Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
But cargo ships did not always look like the monster vessels of today.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2024
The New Empire brings back those two A-list monsters, GvK director Adam Wingard, and the previous film’s cast members Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Kaylee Hottle.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2024
There are too many monsters and, as more and more are introduced, character falls away.
—Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2024
The Flemming Set Another monster 10-pointer, this deer’s sheds were picked up in southeastern Saskatchewan.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 27 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
Phrases Containing monster
Dictionary Entries Near monster
Cite this Entry
“Monster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monster. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
monster
1 of 2 noun
mon·ster
ˈmän(t)-stər
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
Nglish: Translation of monster for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of monster for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about monster
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