monopoly

[muh-nop-uh-lee]

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.

monopoly

¹

/ 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

Monopoly

²

/ 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

monopoly

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of monopoly¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of monopoly¹

C16: from Late Latin, from Greek monopōlion, from _mono- + pōlein to sell

Example Sentences

Other firms are still free to come up with new products, and so the temporary monopolies that patents give don’t kill economic progress.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

At the same time, Google’s lawyers are working to convince federal judges determining the company’s fate that, in fact, AI poses a huge threat to its monopoly businesses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He characterized China's approach as building monopoly positions on magnets and other elements, calling it "a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least."

Read more on Barron's

As well as tightening rules for exports of rare earths, China has opened a monopoly investigation into the US tech firm Qualcomm that could stall its acquisition of another chipmaker.

Read more on BBC

Utilities often face price caps, in part because they are monopolies.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• cartel 
• holding 
• ownership 
• patent 
• trust 

When To Use

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.