standing stone
2
7.7
- noun
:
menhir
- Guided by the sound of rushing water, they climbed to the summit of the pass, where the standing stone stood amid fairy rings.
- circle of standing stones
- ring of standing stones
- ancient standing stone
They were making gigantic standing stone circles by flattening bedrock.
- They were making gigantic standing stone circles by flattening bedrock.
- So this guy built an obelisk on top of one of these White Horse hills in the place where the standing stone once originally was erected.
Examples
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The ancient standing stones in the English countryside attract many tourists each year.
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Past the standing stone, the trail reappeared, winding down into a wooded glen backed by tall cliffs.
Fiction book (1999) -
You know what the old wives say About these standing stones?
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Down by the loch, the standing stones were visible, both rings.
Fiction book (1991) -
All the Paleolithic standing stones in the country.
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The most spectacular of these is Callanish, a circle of 13 standing stones, one for each lunar month.
Academic text (2006) -
Their holy places, their places of healing and power, were sacred groves and circles of standing stones.
Academic text (1990) -
Here, the land opened up, revealing a patch of high, treeless moorland with an ancient standing stone in its center, surrounded by fairy rings.
Fiction book (1999) -
Brodgar and Stenness were two rings of standing stones; Maes Howe was a nearby chambered tomb.
Fiction book (1991) -
Archaeologists uncovered a line of standing stones that date back to prehistoric times.
Synonyms
A tall upright stone placed by people long ago, often found in western Europe
How Tall
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'standing' (upright) + 'stone' (rock) yields an upright/tall stone, which matches the given definition of a prehistoric upright stone. This follows the regular adjective+noun pattern and is cross‑linguistically predictable, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Standing stone shows the image of a large stone left standing upright in the ground by people long ago. These stones were often used as meeting places or to mark important spots, so today 'standing stone' means 'a tall, very old stone put up for ceremony or to mark a place'.