standing stone

A prehistoric monument of a class found chiefly in the British Isles and northern France, consisting of a single tall, upright megalith. Also called menhir.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

standing stone

Any large stone erected to stand upright, either alone or as part of a group, in prehistoric times.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

standing stone - a tall upright megalith; found primarily in England and northern France

menhir

megalith, megalithic structure - memorial consisting of a very large stone forming part of a prehistoric structure (especially in western Europe)

Translations

menhir

standing stone

n → menhir m inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

We find the "standing stones" of the Celts in Asian Siberia; in the pampas of America.

View in context

Maen Llia is a standing stone about one kilometre west of Pen-y-Fan.

New mystery at ancient Welsh stone

At the centre of this curve is what looks like a standing stone with a hole in it.The stone is in fact for one end of a toll bar, which blocked the road and was only raised when travellers paid a fee.There will have been another stone directly opposite.

Stirling Council archaeologist Murray Cook on historical stone which was used to exact a toll on travellers to area

The passage, which is aligned to the midsummer sunrise, leads to a chamber that homes another large standing stone.

Life in Wales before history was first written: What our standing stones can tell us; Long before the history we are taught in schools began, there was a thriving society in Wales

"She comes across a standing stone circle and somehow mysteriously falls 200 years back in time and meets his ancestor who is a very bad redcoat.

Caitriona just loves her role on Outlander

The lawsuit says she began to suffer pain the day after eating a lamb burger at the Standing Stone Brewing Company, and it took several days for doctors to diagnose what was wrong and to surgically remove the fragment.

Not for Web

Nearby is a standing stone called the Hartley Pillar which looks ancient but has a very different story.

Cornerstones of a city; MERSEYSIDE TALES

Matfen Estates, which owns the award-winning Matfen Hall Hotel in Northumberland, launched Standing Stone Farm, an 8000sq ft.

Rural business park units going fast

THE LAST PREHISTORIC standing stone circle was erected in the British Isles thousands of years ago.

Let the stones stand again: A Colorado astronomy club builds a Neolithic-style solar observatory

The debut title in author Valerie Biel's new 'Circle of Nine' series, this deftly written and consistently compelling coming-of-age novel will especially appeal to young adult readers who enjoy stories of magic steeped in the mysticism surrounding the standing stone circles of Ireland.

Circle of Nine

Maen Llia standing stone is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in Brecon Beacons National Park which attracts visitors from across the world as a site of archaeological importance.

Ancient stone vandalised