- a building inhabited by a community of monks or nuns governed by an abbot or abbess
- a church built in conjunction with such a building
- such a community of monks or nuns
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ab•bey /ˈæbi/USA pronunciation
n. [countable], pl. -beys.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Religiona monastery under an abbot or a convent under an abbess.
- Religionthe church of such a monastery or convent:Westminster is a famous abbey.
ab•bey
(ab′ē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -beys.
Ab•bey (ab′ē),USA pronunciation n.
- a monastery under the supervision of an abbot or a convent under the supervision of an abbess.
- the group of buildings comprising such a monastery or convent.
- the church of an abbey.
- Late Latin abbātia abbacy
- Old French abeie
- Middle English abbey(e) 1200–50
Ab•bey (ab′ē),USA pronunciation n.
- Biographical Edward, 1927–89, U.S. novelist and nature writer.
- Biographical Edwin Austin, 1852–1911, U.S. painter and illustrator.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
abbey /ˈæbɪ/ n
'abbey' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abbatial
- abbot
- Alban
- Battle
- Beaulieu
- choir
- Glastonbury
- Gregory
- Győr
- Malachy
- Melk
- Middelburg
- Mont-Saint-Michel
- oriflamme
- Peacock
- prior
- priory
- Saint Albans
- Saint-Denis
- Salzburg
- Scone
- Sherborne
- Smith
- Soissons
- Synge
- Tewkesbury
- Westminster
- Westminster Abbey
- Whitby
- Wordsworth
- Yeats
- abbacy
- Abbey Theatre
- Abingdon
- cloister
- Cluny
- convent
- Edward the Confessor
- Glastonbury chair
- Jedburgh
- La Trappe
- Melrose
- monastery
- Northanger Abbey
- Vallombrosa
- venerable
- St. Denis