Monopoly

How to spell monopoly

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce monopoly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does monopoly mean?

1. nounThe exclusive control of the supply of a product or service in a particular market, leaving no real competition.

Monopoly in a sentence

• The regulator broke up the company to stop it holding a monopoly on broadband.

• For decades the state held a monopoly over rail travel in the region.

Where does monopoly come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word comes from the Greek monopolion, which combined monos meaning 'single' or 'alone' with polein meaning 'to sell'. Put together, the original idea was the exclusive right to sell a particular thing, with no rival traders allowed. The term passed into Latin as monopolium and then into English in the sixteenth century, when crown grants and royal charters often handed one merchant or company sole control of a trade. The same polein root that means 'to sell' is much rarer in English than its partner mono-, which we recognise instantly in words like monorail and monotone, and that is partly why writers double-check the lone single l in monopoly. The modern economic sense, a market dominated by one supplier, grew naturally from that founding idea of selling without competition.

How the word is built

• mono- (single, alone)
• pol (from Greek polein: to sell)
• -y (noun suffix)