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 WebDanny Emerman, The Mercury News, 29 Apr. 2024
Yet the duo only ever encounter one such monster over the eight-episode first season, and perhaps that’s because despite its gloomy-sounding premise, Dead Boy Detectives is the furthest thing from dour.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for monster 
Noun
Patrick Bailey’s ninth-inning heroics save SF Giants on night Joey Bart returns and Kyle Harrison shines
Carl played 23 seasons for the Red Sox in the shadow of the green monster, hitting 452 home runs in his inner-circle Hall of Fame career.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 29 Apr. 2024
Yet the duo only ever encounter one such monster over the eight-episode first season, and perhaps that’s because despite its gloomy-sounding premise, Dead Boy Detectives is the furthest thing from dour.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for monster
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.
Dictionary Entries Near monster
Cite this Entry
“Monster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monster. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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