sole-source

American

[sohl-sawrs, -sohrs] / ˈsoʊlˈsɔrs, -ˈsoʊrs /

adjective

designating a company contracted, without competition, to be the sole supplier of a product or service, as a firm having an exclusive contract for certain military technology.

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.

See Examples For:

sole-source

The sole-source $7 million grant aimed to advance “Anglo-American values” in the U.K.,

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Ten months later, in January, FAS awarded Databricks, a Thrive-backed artificial-intelligence enterprise company, a $1.8 million sole-source contract to optimize the agency’s procurement analytics and fraud-detection capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

This is known as a competitive sole-source contract.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2024

Mr. Agawa said that limiting the use of sole-source contracting could “help or hurt” the county.

From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

Over the past year, Air Force leaders have repeatedly said a sole-source contract to Boeing is the likely outcome, although a final decision has not been made.

From Reuters ● Jun. 18, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023