Meaning & use
monopoly
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Meanings
nouncountablebusiness
Sole control of the supply of a product or service by one seller, so buyers have no real alternative.
Grammar: Countable; often followed by on or of: a monopoly on railways.
Patterns
- a monopoly on something
- a monopoly of something
- have a monopoly
The company had a monopoly on telephone service in the region.
Regulators broke up the monopoly to restore competition.
The state kept a monopoly of salt sales.
nouncountablebusiness
A firm that holds such control.
Grammar: Countable: a powerful monopoly.
Patterns
- a natural monopoly
The water company is a natural monopoly.
Critics call the tech giant a monopoly.
The monopoly raised its prices every year.
nounsingularfigurative
Exclusive possession or control of something, as when only one person or group has it.
Grammar: Usually with a: no one has a monopoly on wisdom.
Patterns
- a monopoly on something
No one has a monopoly on good ideas.
Young people do not have a monopoly on enthusiasm.
She acted as if she had a monopoly on the truth.
Word forms
| plural | monopolies |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a monopoly on
- The airline has a monopoly on that route.
- break up a monopoly
- Courts may break up a monopoly.
- state monopoly
- Tobacco was once a state monopoly.
- natural monopoly
- Power grids are often a natural monopoly.
- hold a monopoly
- One firm held a monopoly for decades.
Synonyms and how they differ
- exclusive control
- A plain-language phrase, with no technical economic meaning.
- cartel
- A cartel is a group of firms that agree to fix prices, unlike a single seller.
- domination
- Domination suggests power in general, not necessarily sole control.
Opposites
Word family
- monopolize verb
- to take complete control of something
- monopolist noun
- a person or firm holding a monopoly
- monopolistic adjective
- acting like a monopoly
Commonly confused: monopoly or oligopoly?
monopoly vs oligopoly
An oligopoly is a market dominated by a few sellers; a monopoly has just one.
Practice
When only one company sells a product and buyers have no alternative, the company has a ____.
Choose one answer.
A monopoly is control by one seller. An oligopoly has a few sellers, a franchise is a licence to trade, and a partnership is shared ownership.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “monopoly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.