cartel
Americannoun
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an international syndicate, combine, or trust formed especially to regulate prices and output in some field of business.
- Synonyms:
- combination, merger, monopoly
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a coalition of political or special-interest groups having a common cause, as to encourage the passage of a certain law.
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a written agreement between belligerents, especially for the exchange of prisoners.
-
a written challenge to a duel.
noun
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Also called: trust. a collusive international association of independent enterprises formed to monopolize production and distribution of a product or service, control prices, etc
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politics an alliance of parties or interests to further common aims
Discover More
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.”
Vocabulary lists containing cartel
Mexico - High School
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South America - High School
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This Week In Words: March 21–27, 2020
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The U.S. case against a Mexican governor is entwined with the mysterious kidnapping of Sinaloa cartel kingpin Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
OPEC’s crude output fell further last month as the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz forced major Gulf producers to curb production and reroute exports, prompting the cartel to cut its demand forecast.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ countries increased their oil production quota on Sunday in an expected move aimed at demonstrating continuity at the cartel after the shock withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates.
From Barron's • May 3, 2026
This week provided an example, with the United Arab Emirates saying they were leaving OPEC, thus freeing the country to increase oil exports without seeking agreement among cartel members.
From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026
Right before their eyes he had transformed his syndicate into an international cartel.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
