duopoly

noun

du·​op·​o·​ly du̇-ˈä-pə-lē 

 also  dyu̇-

plural duopolies

1

: an oligopoly limited to two sellers

2

: preponderant influence or control by two political powers

duopolistic

d(y)u̇-ˌä-pə-ˈli-stik 

adjective

Examples of duopoly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The duopoly of the great auction houses is a codependency on which the rest of the sixty-five-billion-dollar art market relies. —Sam Knight, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025

Of these, Boeing and Airbus operate in a duopoly with Embraer and COMAC representing minor production totals for different reasons. —Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025

The senators argued the settlement fails to address the issues raised in the DOJ’s initial lawsuit, which suggested the merger would essentially result in a duopoly in the market between HPE-Juniper and Cisco. —Julia Shapero, The Hill, 1 Aug. 2025

First is the industry’s dynamics as Lyft operates in a duopoly with Uber in the rideshare market. —Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 31 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

duo- + -poly (as in monopoly)

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for duopoly

• melancholy
• pulmonale
• triticale
• akali
• bengali
• diwali
• loblolly
• naphtali
• nepali
• secale
• somali
• colley