Mondo

adj, adv, noun, slang

adj, adv, noun, slang ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A dialogue between master and student designed to obtain an intuitive truth.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Big, large; major, significant. US, slang

    "[…] I mean, me bein' here has caused us some mondo problems, so I shoulda figured out that not bein' here anymore would cause some more problems — ""

Adverb
  1. 1
    Very, extremely, really. US, not-comparable, slang

    ""This rain is mondo depressing," Sam sighed as she stared out the sliding glass doors that led to the Hewitts' deck."

Example

More examples

"[…] I mean, me bein' here has caused us some mondo problems, so I shoulda figured out that not bein' here anymore would cause some more problems — ""

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Japanese 問答 (mondō).

Etymology 2

From the title of the 1962 Italian cult documentary film Mondo cane, Italian for "A Dog's World", from mondo (“world”) and cane (“dog”). The film featured bizarre scenes, leading to English use of mondo as an adverb meaning "very, extremely" in mock-Italian phrases like mondo bizarro. Doublet of monde.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.