abbey
noun
Simple meaning
A monastery ruled by an abbot.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
abeeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈæbi
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A monastery ruled by an abbot
A monastery or society of people, secluded from the world and devoted to religion and celibacy, which is headed by an abbot or abbess; also, the monastic building or buildings.
A church associated with a monastery or convent
A diminutive of the female given name Abigail, from Hebrew.
A diminutive of the male given name Albert, from the Germanic languages.
A British surname.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- General and technical use
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A monastery ruled by an abbot
An 'abbey' is a type of religious community, often large and historic, for monks or nuns, led by an abbot or abbess. It's distinct from a 'monastery' or 'convent' by its specific leadership structure.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
History books
“Westminster Abbey is a famous site in English history.”
Travel guides
“Visitors can tour the ruins of the ancient abbey.”
Literature
“The quiet life of the abbey suited her contemplative nature.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use abbey
- “The ancient abbey stood majestically on the hill.”
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A famous Gothic church of St. Peter in Westminster, London on the site of a former Benedictine monastery.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “abbey” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.