• Monitor

    Alternative forms

    Origin

    From Latin monitor ("warner"), from perfect passive participle monitus ("warning"), from verb monere ("to warn, admonish, remind")

    Full definition of monitor

    Noun

    monitor

    (plural monitors)
    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.
      • 1829, Charles Sprague, And oft, mild friend, to me thou artA monitor, though still;Thou speak'st a lesson to my heart,Beyond the preacher's skill.
    2. A device that detects and informs on the presence, quantity, etc., of something.
    3. (computing) 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.
    4. (computing) A program for viewing and editing.a machine code monitor
    5. (British) A student leader in a class.
      • 1871, , ,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.
      • 1881, Talbot Baines Reed, , Chapter X,But it was not so—at least, not always—for though they fell out among themselves, they united their forces against the common enemy—the monitors!
    6. (nautical) One of a class of relatively small armored warships designed for shore bombardment or riverine warfare rather than combat with other ships.
    7. (archaic) An ironclad.
    8. A monitor lizard.
    9. (obsolete) One who admonishes; one who warns of faults, informs of duty, or gives advice and instruction by way of reproof or caution.
      • Francis BaconYou need not be a monitor to the king.
    10. (engineering) 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 the several tools successively into position.

    Related terms

    Derived terms

    Verb

    1. (transitive) To watch over; to guard.

    Synonyms

    Anagrams

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