What does "monitor" mean?
Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.
Monitor
/ˈmɒn.ɪ.tə/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.
- Grammar: monitor is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: admonisher, admonisher, adviser, amateur radio operator.
- Useful contrasts: ignore, neglect, neglect of gardening.
- Usage evidence: What's the reading on the blood pressure monitor?
How to use "monitor"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "monitor" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "monitor" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "monitor" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "monitor" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "monitor" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "admonisher" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "monitor", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.
"The camp monitors look after the children during the night, when the teachers are asleep."
- 2 any of various large tropical carnivorous lizards of Africa and Asia and Australia; fabled to warn of crocodiles wordnet
- 3 A device that detects and informs on the presence, quantity, etc., of something.
- 4 a piece of electronic equipment that keeps track of the operation of a system continuously and warns of trouble wordnet
- 5 A device similar to a television set used as to give a graphical display of the output from a computer.
"The information flashed up on the monitor."
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 electronic equipment that is used to check the quality or content of electronic transmissions wordnet
- 7 A studio monitor or loudspeaker.
- 8 display produced by a device that takes signals and displays them on a television screen or a computer monitor wordnet
- 9 A program for viewing and editing.
"a machine code monitor"
- 10 someone who gives a warning so that a mistake can be avoided wordnet
- 11 The command line interface of an operating system. dated
- 12 someone who supervises (an examination) wordnet
- 13 A student leader in a class. Hong-Kong, Singapore, archaic
"So, as she did not like the masters to be prying about the play-ground out of school, she chose from among the biggest and most trustworthy of her pupils five monitors, who had authority over the rest of the Boys, and kept the unruly ones in order."
- 14 A relatively small armored warship with only one or two turrets (but often carrying unusually large guns for a warship of its size), usually designed for shore bombardment or riverine warfare rather than open-ocean combat.
- 15 A monitor lizard (Varanus spp. and extinct relatives in family Varanidae).
- 16 A tool holder, as for a lathe, shaped like a low turret, and capable of being revolved on a vertical pivot so as to bring several tools successively into position.
- 17 A monitor nozzle.
- 18 One who admonishes; one who warns of faults, informs of duty, or gives advice and instruction by way of reproof or caution. obsolete
"c. 1620, Francis Bacon, letter of advice to Sir George Villiers You need not be a monitor to your gracious master the king."
- 19 An ironclad. archaic
Verb
- 1 To watch over; to guard. transitive
"Monitoring refers to keeping a watch over patients to ensure that they are practising what they have learnt about disability prevention correctly."
- 2 keep tabs on; keep an eye on; keep under surveillance wordnet
- 3 check, track, or observe by means of a receiver wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 Any of several publications e.g. the "Christian Science Monitor".
- 2 A text of works or instruction which are not secret and may be written e.g. "Indiana Monitor and Freemasons' Guide".
- 3 The USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship of its type.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"What's the reading on the blood pressure monitor?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "monitor"?
Common synonyms include: admonisher, admonisher, adviser, amateur radio operator, announcer, annual climate pattern.
How do you use "monitor" in a sentence?
What's the reading on the blood pressure monitor?
How do you pronounce "monitor"?
Pronounced /ˈmɒn.ɪ.tə/.
Etymology
From Latin monitor (“warner”), from perfect passive participle monitus (“warning”), from verb monere (“to warn, admonish, remind”). Warship sense is from USS Monitor, the first ship of this type.