monopoly

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   exclusive control or possession of something

   They have no monopoly on intelligence

2. 2
   noun

   (economics) a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller

   a monopoly on silver

3. 3
   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.

   The sale of the leaves and roots was a Government monopoly, and from it the Kings of Kôr derived a large proportion of their private revenue.

4. 4
   noun

   An exclusive control over the trade or production of a commodity or service through exclusive possession.

   A land monopoly renders its holder(s) nearly almighty in an agricultural society.

5. 5
   noun

   The privilege granting the exclusive right to exert such control.

   Granting monopolies in concession constitutes a market-conform alternative to taxation for the state, while the crown sometimes bestowed a monopoly as an outrageous gift.

6. 6
   name

   A board game in which players use play money to buy and trade properties, with the objective of forcing opponents into bankruptcy.

   I was playing Monopoly with my friends at 12:00am last night.

7. 7
   noun

   The market thus controlled.

8. 8
   noun

   The holder (person, company or other) of such market domination in one of the above manners.

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.