Definition of monk

• n. - A man who retires from the ordinary temporal concerns of the world, and devotes himself to religion; one of a religious community of men inhabiting a monastery, and bound by vows to a life of chastity, obedience, and poverty.
• n. - A blotch or spot of ink on a printed page, caused by the ink not being properly distributed. It is distinguished from a friar, or white spot caused by a deficiency of ink.
• n. - A piece of tinder made of agaric, used in firing the powder hose or train of a mine.
• n. - A South American monkey (Pithecia monachus); also applied to other species, as Cebus xanthocephalus.
• n. - The European bullfinch.