From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishabbeyab‧bey /ˈæbi/ noun [countable] RRCa large church with buildings next to it where monks and nuns live or used to live
Examples from the Corpus
abbey• A land where meandering rivers flow through breathtaking scenery and beside magnificent abbeys and castles.• At home the prevailing taste was for more picturesque remains, ruined abbeys and medieval churches.• But the history and the atmosphere of Kirkstead does not end at the abbey ruins.• At Bury, for instance, the abbey owned the whole site and could lay it out as it pleased.• Opposite, the fields of the abbey stretched to its grey stone walls.• Today this is grazing land for sheep, as most of the surrounding area has been since the founding of the abbey.• The abbey was surrendered the same year.Origin abbey (1200-1300) Old French abaïe, from Late Latin abbatia, from abbas; → ABBOT 