Dictionary.com

cartel

[ kahr-tel ]
/ kɑrˈtɛl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR cartel

noun

an international syndicate, combine, or trust formed especially to regulate prices and output in some field of business.
a coalition of political or special-interest groups having a common cause, as to encourage the passage of a certain law.
a written agreement between belligerents, especially for the exchange of prisoners.
a written challenge to a duel.

QUIZZES

BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!

Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of cartel

1550–60; <Middle French <Italian cartello letter of defiance, poster, equivalent to cart(a) carte + -ello diminutive suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM cartel

car·tel·ism, noun

Words nearby cartel

Cartagena, cart before the horse, put the, carte, carte blanche, carte du jour, cartel, cartelist, cartelize, Carter, Carteret, Carter, James Earl
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to cartel

monopoly, corporation, conglomerate, gang, syndicate, mob, ring, consortium, holding company, crowd, chain, outfit, crew, combine, trust, pool, bunch, multinational

Example sentences from the Web for cartel

British Dictionary definitions for cartel

cartel
/ (kɑːˈtɛl) /

noun

Also called: trust a collusive international association of independent enterprises formed to monopolize production and distribution of a product or service, control prices, etc
politics an alliance of parties or interests to further common aims

Word Origin for cartel

C20: from German Kartell, from French, from Italian cartello a written challenge, public notice, diminutive of carta card 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for cartel

cartel
[ (kahr-tel) ]

An association in which producers of a similar or identical product try to obtain a monopoly over the sale of the product.

notes for cartel

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.