[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/mono/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [M](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/m/) / mono

# mono

noun (mono — uncountable); adjective (mono); prefix (mono-)

«mono» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Mono is short for monophonic: sound recorded or played through one channel, so it comes from one speaker and not left and right like stereo. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#m1)
2. (US, informal, medicine) Mono is short for mononucleosis, an illness caused by a virus that makes you very tired with a sore throat and swollen glands (in the UK called glandular fever). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#m2)
3. Mono- at the start of a word means one or single, as in monorail, monologue, monochrome, monotone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#m3)
4. (informal) Mono can be short for monochrome (one colour, or black and white). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science and music lessons it is the opposite of stereo. In maths and science, the prefix mono- means one (a monomer, a monoplane). In health it is the «kissing disease» passed through spit. Phrases: in mono, mono sound, have mono.

### Examples

- Old records were recorded in mono. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x1)
- Switch the headphones to mono if one ear doesn't work. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x2)
- My cousin had mono and missed three weeks of school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x3)
- A monorail runs on just one rail. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x4)
- A monologue is a speech by one person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x5)
- Don't share drinks: mono spreads through spit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x6)
- The photo looks great in mono. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/#x7)

### Note

A clipped word: say what it is short for. «Mono» (sound) is the opposite of stereo (two channels). The prefix mono- = 1, bi- = 2, tri- = 3, poly- = many: a monoplane has one pair of wings, a biplane two. The illness is called glandular fever in the UK and Australia.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «mono» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mono/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«mono» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mono.html) on Mova free.