cloister

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 24, 2025 is: cloister \KLOY-ster\ verb
To cloister someone or something is to shut the person or thing away from the world.

// The scientist cloistered himself in his laboratory all weekend to finish analyzing data.

[See the entry >](https://bit.ly/43VSo96)


Examples:

“Now, the past Melbourne High student body president and co-valedictorian is planning to step down Jan. 20 after serving nearly four years as NASA’s administrator. ... ‘My constitution is such that I’m not going to retire. And what I said is, I’m going to cloister myself and write a book. And then, we’ll see what happens,’ [Bill] Nelson, who is now 82, told reporters Wednesday during a roundtable discussion at the Kennedy Space Center Press Site.” — Rick Neale, Florida Today, 19 Dec. 2024

Did you know?

Cloister first entered the English language as a [noun](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloister) in the 13th century, referring then (as it still does) to a convent or monastery. More than three centuries later, English speakers began using the [verb](https://bit.ly/43VSo96) cloister to mean “to seclude in or as if in a cloister.” Today, the noun can also refer to the monastic life or to a covered and usually arched passage along or around a court. You may also encounter the adjective [cloistered](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cloistered) with the meaning “separated from the rest of the world [as if in a cloister],” as in “She leads a private, cloistered life in the country.” Cloister ultimately comes from the Latin verb claudere, meaning “to close.” Other words that can be traced back to the prolific claudere include [close](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/close), [conclude](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conclude), [exclude](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exclude), [include](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/include), [preclude](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preclude), [seclude](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seclude), and [recluse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recluse).