monopoly
/məˈnɒpəli/ noun (plural monopolies)Definition
› [C or U] ECONOMICS a situation in which one company or person or a government has no competition in the sale of a particular product or service and is able to control its supply and price: business/corporate/government monopolies He argues that farm subsidies help keep agricultural land away from corporate monopolies.a monopoly of sth Each firm has a monopoly of goods that tend to be used together.a monopoly in/on sth A decision by the Supreme Court struck down the state's monopoly on radio and television stations.
› [C] ECONOMICS a company, person, etc. that is the only one supplying a particular product or service: The Justice Department is suing the company because they claim that it used unfair tactics to become a monopoly.
› [C] something that is controlled by one person or group and not shared by others: The network is a monopoly of the state telephone company.
→ See also bilateral monopoly, commercial monopoly, legal monopoly, natural monopoly, public monopoly, state monopoly(Definition of monopoly noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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