cartel

American  

[kahr-tel] / kɑrˈtɛl /

noun

1. an international syndicate, combine, or trust formed especially to regulate prices and output in some field of business.

   Synonyms:

   combination, merger, monopoly

2. a coalition of political or special-interest groups having a common cause, as to encourage the passage of a certain law.

3. a written agreement between belligerents, especially for the exchange of prisoners.

4. a written challenge to a duel.

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cartel British  

/ kɑːˈtɛl /

noun

1. Also called: trust.  a collusive international association of independent enterprises formed to monopolize production and distribution of a product or service, control prices, etc

2. politics an alliance of parties or interests to further common aims

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cartel Cultural  

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

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Discover More

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel.

Other Word Forms

• cartelism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cartel

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

Explanation

When groups band together to control the supply of a product for their best interests, that’s called a cartel. If you and the other kids running lemonade stands form a cartel, you can force up the price of lemonade. The word cartel originally referred to political parties that joined forces to promote a common cause. Over the years, cartel took on a decidedly negative connotation, and now it’s more likely to describe organizations that join together to limit supply of a product to force prices to remain high. You might read about an international drug cartel or a cartel of natural gas producers. To correctly pronounce the word cartel, put the accent on the second syllable: “car TEL.”

Example Sentences

The Federal Cartel Office watchdog will be given more powers "to quickly investigate and stop price markups in the wholesale sector," she said.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

The country’s Federal Cartel Office said Thursday that restricting the visibility of sellers’ listings or removing them altogether from Amazon’s marketplace because of pricing could lead to significant losses in sales for them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

But the company's methods are "based on non-transparent rules", according to Germany's Federal Cartel Office, adding that it was not clear to third-party retailers how price caps were determined.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

The name, Cartel of the Suns, derives from the sun insignia found on the uniforms of Venezuelan soldiers, much like stars on U.S. military uniforms.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

The hungry public was told how Cartel had seen her genius at a glance and persuaded her parents to let him have the training of her talent.

From The Cricket by Williams, J. Scott (John Scott)

Related Words

• conglomerate
• consortium
• corporation
• gang
• holding company
• mob
• monopoly
• ring
• syndicate