monopoly

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noun mo·nop·o·ly \ mə-ˈnä-p(ə-)lē \

Definition of monopoly

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.

See monopoly defined for English-language learners

See monopoly defined for kids

Examples of monopoly in a Sentence

The government passed laws intended to break up monopolies.

Recent Examples of monopoly from the Web

Or do Middlebury and Berkeley students or antifa rioters in their infinite wisdom have a monopoly on calibrating virtue and defining it as 100 percent bad or good?

— victor davis hanson, National Review, "Our War against Memory," 22 Aug. 2017
The U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons didn’t last long.

— sharon squassoni, Teen Vogue, "How to Get Rid of Nuclear Weapons," 17 Aug. 2017
Not coincidentally, Democrats latched onto two policies that Mr. Trump campaigned on but has done little to combat as president — the power of big-business monopolies and surging drug prices.

— matt flegenheimer and alexander burns, New York Times, "Democrats Try to Find Economic Message After Railing Against Trump," 24 July 2017
Even the sainted Franklin Roosevelt vacillated between expansionary fiscal policy and austerity, and between attacking corporate power and encouraging monopoly.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "How ‘Neoliberalism’ Became The Left’s Favorite Insult Of Liberals," 16 July 2017
Delta enjoys a monopoly on about 60 percent of its regional markets, according to Stifel’s analysis, compared with 53 percent at American and 41 percent at United.

— justin bachman, Bloomberg.com, "Why Delta Is Better at Taking Your Money," 14 July 2017
Younger monopolies such as Alphabet and Facebook have net cash positions, largely because the money has only just started pouring in.

— The Economist, "SchumpeterThe United States of debt," 13 July 2017
But that was at a time when Intel's monopoly on the CPU market was as its strongest, before a resurgent AMD lay waste to the idea that a chip with more than four cores be reserved for those with the fattest wallets.

— mark walton, Ars Technica, "Intel Core i9-7900X review: The fastest chip in the world, but too darn expensive," 4 July 2017
Unlike the United States, where regulators only look at whether a monopoly practice hurts consumers, the EC can look at whether competitors are getting hurt.

— jeff john roberts, Fortune, "Google’s $2.7 Billion Fine: What It Means and What Happens Next," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'monopoly.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of monopoly

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1534

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Other Business Terms

amortize, caveat emptor, clearinghouse, divest, due diligence, emolument, green-collar, marque, overhead, perquisite

MONOPOLY Defined for English Language Learners

monopoly

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noun

Definition of monopoly for English Language Learners

: complete control of the entire supply of goods or of a service in a certain area or market
: a large company that has a monopoly
: complete ownership or control of something

MONOPOLY Defined for Kids

monopoly

play

noun mo·nop·o·ly \ mə-ˈnä-pə-lē \

Definition of monopoly for Students

plural monopolies

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

2 :a person or group having complete control over something

The laws are intended to prevent monopolies.

3 :complete ownership or control of something

He thinks he has a monopoly on the truth.

Law Dictionary

monopoly

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noun mo·nop·o·ly \ mə-ˈnä-pə-lē \

legal Definition of monopoly

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