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

Ticketmaster denies holding a monopoly, and a spokesperson told The Journal that the company has more competition than ever. —Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2024

No surprise that once a handful of rich corporations bought the majority of food brands across the United States and became powerful monopolies, the picture changed for American soils. —Tomris Laffly, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024

Driven by booming demand from chip designers, TSMC—which has a near monopoly on global semiconductor manufacturing—is riding the AI wave that has pushed the stock market to record highs. —Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024

Avery, in the guise of Bridgeman, pretended his ship was a slaver bending the rules as so many did, trafficking enslaved Africans and elephant tusks without the seal of approval from the Royal African Company, which owned the British crown’s monopoly over the trade. —Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

In December of last year, a US court ruled that the Google Play Store was a monopoly. —Morgan Meaker, WIRED, 25 Mar. 2024

The Justice Department’s complaint, which referenced internal communications from Apple that were subpoenaed, detailed a number of tactics that the company allegedly used to bolster and maintain its monopoly power. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Last year, the state joined the DOJ and seven other states to file a complaint against Google, accusing the tech giant of creating a monopoly for digital advertising. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of consumers and advertisers, alleges Meta is a monopoly in the social media market. —Maxwell Zeff / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 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