monopoly

noun

mo·​nop·​o·​ly mə-ˈnä-p(ə-)lē How to pronounce monopoly (audio)
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 truthHelen M. Lynd
3
: a commodity controlled by one party
had a monopoly on flint from their quarriesBarbara 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 The Lower Costs, More Transparency Act would take on the anti-competitive and predatory behavior of hospital monopolies that is leading to higher health care costs and affordability issues for my patients. Rob Davidson, Fortune, 7 Mar. 2024 Epic’s lawsuit against Apple argued that the tech company acts as a monopoly, taking a 30% cut Apple takes on all in-app purchases while banning outside payment methods. Todd Spangler, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 The Agency is earnestly trying to protect and promote public health, but Agency experts need to think carefully about when, or whether, to give a monopoly to a drug company for a medication that has been in use for thousands of years. Peter Ubel, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 For most of American history, no party had a monopoly on the rural vote—except in the Jim Crow South, where the Democrats dominated. Jessica T. Mathews, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 The argument made by Paramount’s lawyers — that the monopoly existed only in the DOJ’s mind — proved unpersuasive. Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024 Unsurprisingly, that monopoly at the high-end saw Nvidia's pricing skyrocket too, which is the worry with the RTX 5000-series if AMD lacks any competition here. Antony Leather, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 And while the supermarkets have long held the monopoly on a plentiful supply of cheap meat, there are areas in which the butcher remains king (or queen). Olivia Potts, Longreads, 15 Feb. 2024 High production and shipping costs, low commodity prices and meat packing monopolies tighten the vise. Ben Long, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monopoly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of monopoly was in 1534

Dictionary Entries Near monopoly

Cite this Entry

“Monopoly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monopoly. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

monopoly

noun
mo·​nop·​o·​ly mə-ˈnäp-(ə-)lē How to pronounce monopoly (audio)
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 How to pronounce monopoly (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on monopoly

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