monopoly
monopoly
noun
/məˈnɒpəli/
(plural monopolies)
1 monopoly (in/of/on something) (business) the complete control of trade in particular goods or the supply of a particular service; a type of goods or a service that is controlled in this way
In the past central government had a monopoly on television broadcasting.
Electricity, gas and water were considered to be natural monopolies.
COMPARE duopoly, oligopoly
TOPICS Money C1
TOPICS Games and toys C1
Collocations
adjective
public
state
state-controlled
2 usually singular monopoly in/of/on something the complete control, possession or use of something; a thing that belongs only to one person or group and that other people cannot share
Managers do not have a monopoly on stress.
A good education should not be the monopoly of the rich.
3 ​Monopoly™ a board game in which players have to pretend to buy and sell land and houses, using pieces of paper that look like money
Culture
Monopoly is one of the most popular and successful board games ever produced.
The game was first published under the name Monopoly in the US in 1935. The British version uses London streets, and there are other versions of the game in other countries.
The expression Monopoly money is sometimes used to refer in a humorous way to a sum of money that is considered much too high.
Word Origin
mid 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek monopōlion, from monos ‘single’ + pōlein ‘sell’.