monopoly
/məˈnɑpəli/ noun C1- 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. · A land monopoly renders its holder(s) nearly almighty in an agricultural society.
- 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.
Plural monopolies
From the library
Two years ago a very large sum was smuggled through the Estimates and was expended in acquiring a monopoly of the invention.
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