Meanings
nounmonotreme (plural monotremes)
plural monotremes
- biologyAny of the order Monotremata of mammals that lay eggs and have single orifices for urogenital and digestive functions (cloaca); an echidna, platypus or one of their extinct relatives.
adjectivemonotreme (not comparable)
- not comparablebiologyHaving a single trema, or aperture.
Nomotreme fern and moss spores are monotreme.
1952, G. Erdtman, Pollen Morphology and Plant Taxonomy, published 1986, →ISBN, page 548Synonyms: 1-treme, monoaperturate
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveHaving a single trema, or aperture.
Similar
1-trememonoaperturate
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria
Similar
egg-laying mammal
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From mono- (“one”) + -treme (“hole”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan monotrema
- monotremaegg-laying mammal
Chinese Mandarin 單孔目動物 /单孔目动物
- 單孔目動物 /单孔目动物 (dānkǒngmù dòngwù)egg-laying mammal
Dutch cloacadier, snaveldier
- cloacadieregg-laying mammal
- snaveldieregg-laying mammal
- monotreemegg-laying mammal
Esperanto monotremo
- monotremoegg-laying mammal
Finnish nokkaeläin
- nokkaeläinegg-laying mammal
French monotrème
- monotrèmeegg-laying mammal
German Kloakentier
- Kloakentieregg-laying mammal
Hebrew יונקי הביב, חיות הביב
- יונקי הביב (yonkéy habív)egg-laying mammal
- חיות הביב (khayót habív)egg-laying mammal
Hindi अण्डजस्तनी
- अण्डजस्तनी (aṇḍajastanī)egg-laying mammal
Hungarian kloákás
- kloákásegg-laying mammal
Icelandic nefdýr
- nefdýregg-laying mammal
Italian monotremo
- monotremoegg-laying mammal
Japanese カモノハシ目, 単孔類
- カモノハシ目 (kamonohashi-moku)egg-laying mammal
- 単孔類 (tankōrui)egg-laying mammal
Korean 단공류
- 단공류 (dan'gongnyu)egg-laying mammal
Latin monotrēma
- monotrēmaegg-laying mammal
Polish stekowiec
- stekowiecegg-laying mammal
Portuguese monotremo, monotremado
- monotremoegg-laying mammal
- monotremadoegg-laying mammal
- monotrématoegg-laying mammal
Romanian monotrem, monotremă
- monotremegg-laying mammal
- monotremăegg-laying mammal
Russian однопрохо́дное, яйцекладу́щее
- однопрохо́дное (odnoproxódnoje)egg-laying mammal
- яйцекладу́щее (jajcekladúščeje)egg-laying mammal
- клоа́чное (kloáčnoje)egg-laying mammal
Spanish monotrema
- monotremaegg-laying mammal
Swahili mamalia atagaye mayai
- mamalia atagaye mayaiegg-laying mammal
Swedish kloakdjur
- kloakdjuregg-laying mammal
Ukrainian однопрохідний
- однопрохідний (odnoprohidnıĭ)egg-laying mammal
Vietnamese động vật đơn huyệt
- động vật đơn huyệtegg-laying mammal
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
monotreme. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotreme
MLA
“monotreme.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotreme. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “monotreme,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/monotreme.
Source: monotreme on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.