monopoly

From Latin monopōlium, from Ancient Greek μονοπώλιον (monopṓlion, “a right of exclusive sale”), from μόνος (mónos, “sole”) + πωλέω (pōléō, “I barter, sell”).

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: mənŏ'pəlē", IPA^(key): /məˈnɒpəˌli/
• (US) enPR: mənä'pəlē", IPA^(key): /məˈnɑpəˌli/

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monopoly (plural monopolies)

1. A situation, by legal privilege or other agreement, in which solely one party (company, cartel etc.) exclusively provides a particular product or service, dominating that market and generally exerting powerful control over it.
   • 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.

   • 2014 June 1, John Oliver, “Net Neutrality”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 5, HBO:

     Exactly! You can’t reduce the competition when nobody is competing! You could not be describing a monopoly more clearly if you were wearing a metal top hat while driving a metal car after winning second prize in a beauty contest!

2. An exclusive control over the trade or production of a commodity or service through exclusive possession.

   A land monopoly renders its holder(s) nearly almighty in an agricultural society.

3. The privilege granting the exclusive right to exert such control.

   Granting monopolies in concession constitutes a market-conform alternative to taxation for the state, while the crown sometimes bestowed a monopoly as an outrageous gift.

4. (metonymically) The market thus controlled.
5. (metonymically) The holder (person, company or other) of such market domination in one of the the above manners.

• (holder): monopolist

• monopsony

• monopolistic
• monopolistically
• monopolize, monopolization, monopolizer

• duopoly
• oligopoly

• monopoly in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• monopoly in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• "monopoly" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 209.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmonopolɪ/

monopoly

1. nominative plural of monopol
2. accusative plural of monopol
3. vocative plural of monopol
4. instrumental plural of monopol

monopoly m (uncountable)

1. Monopoly (board game)