Dictionary

noun

Definitions

1. 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.

   Antonyms:monopsony

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

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

3. The privilege granting the exclusive right to exert such control.

   Example: 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.

4. (metonymy) The market thus controlled.