cloister

noun

clois·ter | \ ˈklȯi-stər

Definition of cloister

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a monastic establishment

b : an area within a monastery or convent to which the religious are normally restricted

c : monastic life young men and women choosing the cloister as a way of life

d : a place or state of seclusion … the Internet broke out of its academic cloister and started cavorting in the mainstream.— Paul McFedries

2 : a covered passage on the side of a court usually having one side walled and the other an open arcade or colonnade The courtyard is surrounded with a cloister.

cloister

verb

cloistered; cloistering\ ˈklȯi-st(ə-)riŋ

Definition of cloister (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to seclude from the world in or as if in a cloister a scientist who cloisters herself in a laboratory policy makers are cloistered for the weekend, trying to stave off a default that they fear could trigger an international financial panic— Art Pine

2 : to surround with a cloister cloistered gardens

Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about cloister

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Did You Know?

Verb

Cloister first entered the English language as a noun in the 13th century; it referred then (as it still does) to a convent or monastery. More than three centuries later, English speakers began using the verb "cloister" to mean "to seclude in or as if in a cloister." Today the noun can also refer to the monastic life or to a covered and usually arched passage along or around a court. You may also encounter "cloistered" with the meaning "surrounded with a covered passage," as in "cloistered gardens." "Cloister" ultimately derives from the Latin verb claudere, meaning "to close." Other words that can be traced back to the prolific "claudere" include "close," "conclude," "exclude," "include," "preclude," "seclude," and "recluse."

Examples of cloister in a Sentence

Noun

monks living in a cloister in the country

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The castle-like Met Cloisters on the Hudson River is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to Medieval religious art and architecture, created out of bits of four actual cloisters. — Elizabeth Chang, Twin Cities, "Harlem’s 125th Street is the gateway to new corners of Manhattan," 3 Aug. 2019 Among the most renowned of the cloister’s early tenants was the young cleric Abérlard, founder of a school to which the present-day University of Paris traces its origins. — Bruce Dale, National Geographic, "Adored, neglected, and restored: A 1968 Nat Geo feature explored Notre Dame," 17 Apr. 2019 The old cloister, as the walled domain of the Chapter of Canons was called, housed unusual and not invariably pious persons, as well as the worldly ecclesiastics themselves. — Bruce Dale, National Geographic, "Adored, neglected, and restored: A 1968 Nat Geo feature explored Notre Dame," 17 Apr. 2019 Meander through the cloister of the monastery or discover the island’s history at a museum. — National Geographic, "France Family Journey: From Paris to Normandy and Beyond," 17 June 2019 The building overlooks the Hudson River and actually incorporates five medieval cloisters into a modern museum structure, creating a historic, contextualized backdrop in which to view the art. — John Wogan, Condé Nast Traveler, "25 Best Museums in New York City," 27 Feb. 2018 Where to Have LunchOsteria del Teatro, near the cloisters of San Francesco, for pesto ravioli. — Erin Florio, Condé Nast Traveler, "6 Places You Absolutely Have to Stop on a Florence-to-Rome Road Trip," 12 Feb. 2018 This, perhaps, is how many in the West see the burqa, and also the hijab (a covering for the head and chest) and the niqab (a face veil)—cloth cloisters of Islam, the second-largest religion in the world. — Laura Jacobs, WSJ, "‘Contemporary Muslim Fashions’ Review: Eye-Catching Modesty," 19 Sep. 2018 In Quebec City, the 17th-century monastery Le Monastère des Augustines provides rooms in the original cloister, breakfast served in silence, workshops in painting and opportunities to hear the nuns singing vespers. — Elaine Glusac, New York Times, "Your Next Trip Might Change Your Life," 1 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Over the course of four hours, you will be cloistered away in your own private culinary bubble in which your focus can be firmly fixed on the food and wine before you. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Review: Get ready for a long night — and to have your mind blown — at Arama," 15 Aug. 2019 Spend a few days hiking the Lousios Gorge and you’re less likely to encounter tourists than monks cloistered in the area’s working monasteries, some of which date to the Middle Ages. — Thomas Linkel, National Geographic, "How to get away from it all in Greece," 18 July 2019 He was cloistered onto this compound in Pyongyang, or other royal residences around the country. — CBS News, "Transcript: Anna Fifield talks with Michael Morell on "Intelligence Matters"," 19 June 2019 Among the brilliant theorists cloistered in the quiet woodside campus of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, Edward Witten stands out as a kind of high priest. — Quanta Magazine, "A Physicist’s Physicist Ponders the Nature of Reality," 28 Nov. 2017 Yet this valley has remained largely hidden, cloistered inside the foreboding, snowcapped Rhaetian Alps, unknown even to many native Italians. — Christopher Ross, WSJ, "The Hidden Valley in the Italian Alps Where Winemakers Are Working Against Nature," 15 Feb. 2019 Discreetly cloistered in a 19th-century hôtel particulier on Paris’s Champs-Élysées, the Biologique Recherche store displays its creams under bell jars like rare specimens in a laboratory. — Marcia Desanctis, Vogue, "Can the Genes Responsible for Aging Be Altered by a Face Cream? These Skin-Care Companies Say Yes," 21 July 2018 Surrounded by beautiful stone walls, the tomato plants sit cloistered in four quadrants framed by low hedges, roses, and apple trees. — Elizabeth Wellington, Vogue, "How a French Prince Is Saving the World From Tasteless Tomatoes," 17 Sep. 2018 Popular treatment methods include prayer, masturbatory reconditioning, cloistering individuals from society, and fostering nonsexual male bonding. — Chelsea Greenwood Lassman, Teen Vogue, "How Gay Conversion Therapy Came to Be, and How It Persists Today," 7 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cloister.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for cloister

cloister

noun

English Language Learners Definition of cloister

: a place where monks or nuns live : a monastery or convent

: a covered path or hall with arches that is on the side of a building (such as a monastery or church) and that has one open side usually facing a courtyard

See the full definition for cloister in the English Language Learners Dictionary

cloister

noun

clois·ter | \ ˈklȯi-stər

Kids Definition of cloister

1 : monastery, convent

2 : a covered passage with arches along or around the walls of a courtyard

cloister

Definition of cloister

Illustration of cloister

Synonyms for cloister

Did You Know?

Examples of cloister in a Sentence

First Known Use of cloister

History and Etymology for cloister

English Language Learners Definition of cloister

Kids Definition of cloister

cloister

Definition of cloister

Illustration of cloister

Synonyms for cloister

Did You Know?

Examples of cloister in a Sentence

First Known Use of cloister

History and Etymology for cloister

English Language Learners Definition of cloister

Kids Definition of cloister

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