monopoly
Meanings
noun
- A situation, by legal privilege or other agreement, in which solely one party (company, cartel etc.) exclusively provides a particular product or service, dominating that market and generally exerting powerful control over it.
- An exclusive control over the trade or production of a commodity or service through exclusive possession.
- The privilege granting the exclusive right to exert such control.
- The market thus controlled.
- The holder (person, company or other) of such market domination in one of the above manners.
name
- A board game in which players use play money to buy and trade properties, with the objective of forcing opponents into bankruptcy.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Latin monopōlium, from Ancient Greek μονοπώλιον (monopṓlion, “a right of exclusive sale”), from μόνος (mónos, “sole”) + πωλέω (pōléō, “to barter, sell”). By surface analysis, mono- + -poly.
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