cartel

noun

car·​tel kär-ˈtel 

1

: a written agreement between belligerent nations

2

: a combination of independent commercial or industrial enterprises designed to limit competition or fix prices

illegal drug cartels

3

: a combination of political groups for common action

Did you know?

The literal meaning of Italian cartello, a derivative of carta, “leaf of paper,” is “placard.” The word is also used for a letter of defiance or a challenge. In this sense the Italian word was borrowed into Middle French as cartel, and the French word was borrowed into English. In English, a cartel was originally a letter of defiance. Later the word came to be used for a written agreement between warring nations to regulate such matters as the treatment and exchange of prisoners. Another type of agreement, a combination of commercial enterprises, is now called a cartel.

Did you know?

A cartel is an organization of a few independent producers for the purpose of improving the profitability of the firms involved. This usually involves some restriction of output, control of price, and allocation of market shares. Members of a cartel generally maintain their separate identities and financial independence while engaging in cooperative policies. Cartels can either be domestic or international. Because cartels restrict competition and result in higher prices for consumers, they are outlawed in some countries. The only industry operating in the U.S. with a blanket exemption from the antitrust laws is major-league baseball.

Synonyms

• combination
• combine
• syndicate
• trust

Examples of cartel in a Sentence

a cartel of oil-producing nations that controls production and influences prices

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the more surprising foreign policy ideas the Trump team has proposed on the eve of its ascension to power is military intervention in Mexico to go after drug cartels and possibly stop migrants headed to the United States. —Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024

Atayde plays a former special forces operative, now working as a security guard and struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), who tries to save a woman being pursued by corrupt police and a vicious drugs cartel. —Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 18 Dec. 2024

Guides paid by the Sinaloa cartel, leading people through one of numerous gaps in the wall. —Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024

The victim was wired with a hidden microphone that let authorities record Youngblood perpetuating the cartel threat and monetary demands, documents say. —Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, letter of defiance, from Old Italian cartello, literally, placard, from carta leaf of paper — more at card entry 1

First Known Use

1692, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cartel

noun

car·​tel kär-ˈtel 

: a combination of business firms to control world markets and fix prices