monolith
noun
mono·lith ˈmä-nə-ˌlith 
1
: a single great stone often in the form of an obelisk or column
A granite monolith stands at the center of the park.
2
: a massive structure
The 70-story monolith is one of Europe's tallest buildings.
3
: an organized whole that acts as a single unified powerful or influential force
The movie company grew into a monolith of the entertainment industry.
Example Sentences
The new office building is a massive steel and concrete monolith. The media monolith owns a number of networks.
Recent Examples on the Web Of course, the Greater Boston market — which comprises 64 communities inside the I-495 belt — is no monolith. 
Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022 An island of 23 million citizens can hardly be a monolith. Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2022 Which is kind of the point as Black people, and the Black experience, is not a monolith. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2022 And though the fragrances that fall under the Old Lady Perfume umbrella aren’t a monolith, there are some common threads. Jane Daly, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Aug. 2022 The first lady tried poorly to explain how the Latinx community isn’t a monolith. Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2022 Africa is not a monolith, and if representation matters, so should accuracy. Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 8 July 2022 The comedy, from the director Gaz Alazraki and the screenwriter Matt Lopez, also manages to avoid depicting Latinos as a monolith. New York Times, 17 June 2022 On top of these centuries of discrimination, western media meccas like Hollywood have long shown Asian women as a monolith, leaving little room to showcase the wide variety of women from across the continent. Jada Jackson, Allure, 23 May 2022 See More
Larry Edelman, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022 An island of 23 million citizens can hardly be a monolith. Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2022 Which is kind of the point as Black people, and the Black experience, is not a monolith. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2022 And though the fragrances that fall under the Old Lady Perfume umbrella aren’t a monolith, there are some common threads. Jane Daly, Harper's BAZAAR, 1 Aug. 2022 The first lady tried poorly to explain how the Latinx community isn’t a monolith. Fidel Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2022 Africa is not a monolith, and if representation matters, so should accuracy. Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 8 July 2022 The comedy, from the director Gaz Alazraki and the screenwriter Matt Lopez, also manages to avoid depicting Latinos as a monolith. New York Times, 17 June 2022 On top of these centuries of discrimination, western media meccas like Hollywood have long shown Asian women as a monolith, leaving little room to showcase the wide variety of women from across the continent. Jada Jackson, Allure, 23 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French monolithe, from monolithe consisting of a single stone, from Latin monolithus, from Greek monolithos, from mon- + lithos stone
First Known Use
1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1
monolith
noun
as in obelisk
a very large stone that is usually tall and narrow Archaeologists have reported the discovery of an ancient monolith. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- obelisk
- pillar
- tomb
- megalith
- stone
- monument
- burial
- shrine
- cross
- plaque
- tablet
- memorial
- tombstone
- marker
- table
- sepulchre
- sepulcher
- headstone
- gravestone
- sepulture