monopoly

American  

[muh-nop-uh-lee] / məˈnɒp ə li /

noun

plural

monopolies

1. exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices.

2. an exclusive privilege to carry on a business, traffic, or service, granted by a government.

3. the exclusive possession or control of something.

4. something that is the subject of such control, as a commodity or service.

5. a company or group that has such control.

6. the market condition that exists when there is only one seller.

7. (initial capital letter) a board game in which a player attempts to gain a monopoly of real estate by advancing around the board and purchasing property, acquiring capital by collecting rent from other players whose pieces land on that property.

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monopoly ¹ British  

/ məˈnɒpəlɪ /

noun

1. exclusive control of the market supply of a product or service

2. 1. an enterprise exercising this control

   2. the product or service so controlled

3. law the exclusive right or privilege granted to a person, company, etc, by the state to purchase, manufacture, use, or sell some commodity or to carry on trade in a specified country or area

4. exclusive control, possession, or use of something

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Monopoly ² British  

/ məˈnɒpəlɪ /

noun

1. a board game for two to six players who throw dice to advance their tokens around a board, the object being to acquire the property on which their tokens land

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monopoly Cultural  

1. The exclusive control by one company of a service or product.

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Usage

How much money do you start with in Monopoly? In Monopoly, the money comes in denominations of $1 (white in color) to $500 (gold or orange). Each player starts with $1,500, as distributed and managed by the game’s designated banker.The $1,500 consists of 2 $500 bills, 2 $100 bills, and 2 $50 bills. It also includes 6 $20 bills; 5 $10 bills, 5 $5 bills, and 5 $1 bills.

Other Word Forms

• antimonopoly adjective
• monopolism noun
• monopolist noun
• monopolistic adjective
• monopolistically adverb
• monopoloid adjective
• premonopoly noun
• promonopoly adjective

Etymology

Origin of monopoly

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin monopōlium, from Greek monopṓlion “right of exclusive sale,” from mono- mono- + pōl(eîn) “to sell” + -ion, noun suffix

Example Sentences

The company then won a significant victory in September, when a federal judge declined to impose harsh penalties on the company after earlier finding it maintained an illegal monopoly in the search market.

From The Wall Street Journal

“In the escalator example, the only value accrued to the customer. This is how it always goes if no monopoly rents can be charged by the producers or providers,” added Burry.

From MarketWatch

Google’s lawyers argued that the company’s monopoly had effectively ended with the advent of AI chatbots as a popular new form of search.

From The Wall Street Journal

Compass is seeking a preliminary injunction against Zillow’s policy governing how homes that appear on its site are allowed to be marketed, and has accused Zillow of being a monopoly in the process.

From Barron's

They are franchise companies, with a degree of monopoly power and price control.

From Barron's

Related Words

• cartel
• holding
• ownership
• patent
• trust