monolith
n. countablen. A computer program built as one single, large piece. All its parts are joined together, making it simple to start with but harder to change or update later compared to modern microservices.
n. A software architecture pattern where the entire application is composed as a single, indivisible unit. While easier to develop and deploy initially, it lacks the modularity of microservices, meaning a small change requires redeploying the whole system. This term also refers to a large, single stone block.
The team decided to break their old monolith into smaller services.
Because the application was a monolith, even a tiny bug fix required us to restart the entire system.
While a monolith is often easier for small teams to manage at first, it can become a bottleneck as the codebase grows and becomes too complex for one person to understand.
The noun is borrowed from French monolithe (“object made from a single block of stone”), from Middle French monolythe (“made from a single block of stone”) (rare), and from their etymon Latin monolithus (“made from a single block of stone”), from Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos, “made from a single block of stone”), from μονο- (mono-, prefix meaning ‘alone; single’) (from μόνος (mónos, “alone; only, unique”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“little, small”)) + λίθος (líthos, “a stone; stone as a substance”); analysable as mono- + -lith. The English word is cognate with German monolith (“made from a single block of stone”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often used metaphorically to describe institutions that appear massive, indivisible, and inflexible.
- Nounmonolith
- Adjectivemonolithic
Last updated July 22, 2026