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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This makes people turn to progressive platforms that promise to break up monopolies, tax the ultra-wealthy, and reinvest in public goods. Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 June 2025 China has a virtual monopoly on those 17 metallic elements, which are critical components to everyday products from cars to jet engines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs. Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 10 June 2025 This breaks the monopoly that exchanges and miners held on public market access. Sean Lee, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025 The following decade showed that the concept of a newspaper holding a monopoly was a castle in the sky. Megan Greenwell, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for monopoly

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Monopoly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monopoly. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.

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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