corner the market

1. Buy all or most of a commodity or stock so that its price goes up. For example, In a famous maneuver the Hunt brothers cornered the market in silver. This idiom uses corner in the sense of “drive would-be buyers into a corner.” [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

Prices more than quadrupled, reaching nearly $50 in early 1980 before regulators stepped in and unraveled the Hunt brothers’ attempt to corner the market.

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The issuers are trying to corner the market and create their own ecosystem.

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Back in 1980, prices crashed after the Hunt brothers’ attempt to corner the market unraveled.

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Silver prices climbed Monday, poised to close at a record 45 years after the high hit when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market for the precious metal.

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Leave it to designer Kiko Kostadinov to corner the market on bizarro motor racing clothing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acquire 
• carry 
• enjoy 
• maintain 
• occupy 
• own 
• retain 
• seize