cartel

American  

[kahr-tel] / kɑrˈtɛl /

noun

cartels plural

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

Derived Forms

• cartelism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cartels
  plural

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

See Examples For:

cartel cartels

The European Commission provisionally found that 10 construction chemical groups and three trade bodies operated a cartel to raise prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Individuals in the supply chain can also be replaced – even, according to the cartel members, ones as deeply and widely connected as Zhang is alleged to have been.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Iraq, in particular, has asked the cartel to raise production quotas to make up for the shortfall it incurred during the war in the Middle East, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said in late June.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

The latest message referenced Mexico’s president, and noted that the imprisoned cartel leader has not attempted “any type of escaping from the U.S.A.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

Right before their eyes he had transformed his syndicate into an international cartel.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Since returning to office in 2025, US President Donald Trump has intensified efforts against Latin American drug cartels and their operations.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Authorities label the video fake and deny any deal or cooperation with the cartels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

He says Zhang was "the one with the connections" in China, and the cartels had to "start from scratch and build a new route".

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Much of the world still thinks of Latin American organized crime in terms of cut-throat cocaine cartels and cavalier capos like Pablo Escobar.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Somewhere in the crowd, perhaps, were the two men who ruled the cartels and directed the struggle for the Galactic empire.

From The Cartels Jungle by Cox, Irving E.

Related Words

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