exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes possible the manipulation of prices.
an exclusive privilege to carry on a business, traffic, or service, granted by a government.
the exclusive possession or control of something.
something that is the subject of such control, as a commodity or service.
a company or group that has such control.
the market condition that exists when there is only one seller.
(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.
exclusive control of the market supply of a product or service
an enterprise exercising this control
the product or service so controlled
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
exclusive control, possession, or use of something
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.
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
A monopoly is the exclusive ownership or control of something. If your sister claims a monopoly over the television during the Tom Cruise movie marathon, you would be wise not to touch that remote. In economics, a monopoly specifically means the domination of a market by one owner or seller. Think of the board game Monopoly. You’re trying to own all the properties so that you have a monopoly over the board and the other players have to pay you basically anywhere they land. You might recognize the prefix mono, meaning “one." Add it to the Greek word polein which means “sell,” and there you have it — one seller.
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The history of global corporations arguably began in 1600, when a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I granted the British East India Company a monopoly on Asian sea trade.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
"Nvidia is bypassing the traditional PC supply chain to build an end-to-end hardware monopoly," said Stephen Wu, a former AI software engineer and founder of the Carthage Capital investment fund.
From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026
The days when STV was a monopoly with "a licence to print money" are a distant memory.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Saudi Aramco, the Saudi oil monopoly, and Apple, the iPhone maker, are the only other companies in the world capable of producing so much cash.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
Myriad has been accused of creating a monopoly, since no one else can offer the test, and researchers can’t develop cheaper tests or new therapies without getting permission from Myriad and paying steep licensing fees.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
