monosyllable n a word or utterance of one syllable Usage(s) He never chooses a monosyllable when a polysyllable will do. Chorus the enlightened mastodons of the monosyllable: "It's fun to think. As a governor from the Deep South, not even a whispered monosyllable as to his views on segregation. Synonym(s) monosyllabic word
Quotes monosyllable Christopher Ricks in Boston Globe (registration) Of the line "Lay, lady, lay, lay across my big brass bed," Ricks writes: "He sings the word `bed' king-sizedly. It's not a monosyllable when he signs it, something happens to it."