monopoly

noun

mo·​nop·​o·​ly mə-ˈnä-p(ə-)lē 

plural monopolies

1

: exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action

2

: exclusive possession or control

no country has a monopoly on morality or truth

—Helen M. Lynd

3

: a commodity controlled by one party

had a monopoly on flint from their quarries

—Barbara A. Leitch

4

: one that has a monopoly

The government passed laws intended to break up monopolies.

Did you know?

You're probably familiar with the word monopoly, but you may not recognize its conceptual and linguistic relative, the much rarer oligopsony. Both monopoly and oligopsony are ultimately from Greek, although monopoly passed through Latin before being adopted into English. Monopoly comes from the Greek prefix mono-, which means "one," and pōlein, "to sell." Oligopsony derives from the combining form olig-, meaning "few," and the Greek noun opsōnia—"the purchase of victuals"—which is ultimately from the combination of opson, "food," and ōneisthai, "to buy." It makes sense, then, that oligopsony refers to a buyer's market in which the seller is subjected to the potential demands of a limited pool of buyers. Another related word is monopsony, used for a more extreme oligopsony in which there is only a single buyer.

Examples of monopoly in a Sentence

The government passed laws intended to break up monopolies.

Recent Examples on the Web

In all three cases, Google is fighting desperately to avoid being broken up as a monopoly, and judges have frowned deeply upon its handling of evidence. —Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024

Boeing bungled its recent mission to ferry astronauts to the ISS so badly that SpaceX has at least a temporary monopoly over astronaut launches from American soil. —Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024

The first credit card company was built by a bank but later split off to avoid being a monopoly. —Dustin Eide, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov. 2024

Perhaps a prime example of a very lengthy monopoly is the arthritis drug Enbrel (etanercept), which was first approved by the FDA in 1998. —Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin monopolium, from Greek monopōlion, from mon- + pōlein to sell

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing monopoly

• anti-monopoly

Kids Definition

monopoly

noun

mo·​nop·​o·​ly mə-ˈnäp-(ə-)lē 

plural monopolies

1

a

: complete control over the entire supply of goods or a service in a certain market

b

: complete possession

2

: a commercial product or service controlled by one person or company

3

: a company that has a monopoly

Legal Definition

monopoly

noun

mo·​nop·​o·​ly mə-ˈnä-pə-lē 

plural monopolies

1

: exclusive control of a particular market that is marked by the power to control prices and exclude competition and that especially is developed willfully rather than as the result of superior products or skill see also antitrust, Sherman Antitrust Act

2

: one that has a monopoly