oligopoly

noun

ol·​i·​gop·​o·​ly ˌä-lə-ˈgä-pə-lē 

ˌō-

: a market situation in which each of a few producers affects but does not control the market

oligopolist

ˌä-lə-ˈgä-pə-list 

ˌō-

noun

oligopolistic

ˌä-lə-ˌgä-pə-ˈli-stik 

ˌō-

adjective

Examples of oligopoly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These include the following: Car rental industry is an oligopoly. —Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025

These fall along a continuum from only one company in a market to thousands, but generally divide into four general groups of market behaviors: perfect competition, oligopolies, monopolistic competition and pure monopoly. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2025

The industry is highly concentrated, an oligopoly with Cognizant competing against major players such as Accenture, Infosys and Capgemini. —Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 15 Mar. 2025

Drug and medical-device manufacturers, hospitals in a metro area and health managers like UnitedHealth, Cigna or HCA are oligopolies. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 9 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

olig- + -poly (as in monopoly)

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for oligopoly

• trichinopoly
• antimonopoly
• monopoly

Legal Definition

oligopoly

noun

ol·​i·​gop·​o·​ly ˌä-li-ˈgä-pə-lē, ˌō- 

plural oligopolies

: a condition in which a few sellers dominate a particular market to the detriment of competition by others