Definition

1. Noun:
   • A board game: A commercial board game where players buy, trade, and develop properties, aiming to bankrupt opponents and gain exclusive control of the game's real estate market.
   • Exclusive control or possession: Complete control over the supply of a particular commodity or service in a specific market, often granted or protected by law.
   • A market structure: In economics, a market situation characterized by a single seller (the monopolist) facing many buyers, with significant barriers preventing the entry of competitors.
   • Sole possession or control of anything: Used more generally to describe exclusive control, access, or dominance over something non-commercial.

Usage and Examples

• Referring to the board game:
  • We played Monopoly all afternoon and I won by owning all the railroads.
  • He bought the Park Place property in our Monopoly game.
• Referring to exclusive market control:
  • The government granted the company a monopoly on telecommunications services.
  • The breakup of the oil monopoly led to lower prices for consumers.
• Referring to general exclusive control:
  • No single party has a monopoly on good ideas.
  • She seems to think she has a monopoly on suffering.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Natural monopoly: A monopoly that arises in an industry where high infrastructure costs and other economic factors make a single provider more efficient than multiple competitors (e.g., public utilities like water supply).
• Government monopoly: A form of monopoly where the state owns and controls the production and distribution of a particular good or service (e.g., postal services in some countries).
• To have/hold a monopoly on something: An idiom meaning to have exclusive control or possession of something, often used figuratively.
  • The company holds a monopoly on patent rights for the drug.
  • He doesn't have a monopoly on common sense.

Variants and Related Words

• Monopolist (noun): A person or entity that has a monopoly.
  • The monopolist was able to set prices without fear of competition.
• Monopolistic (adjective): Having the characteristics of a monopoly; relating to monopolists.
  • The market was highly monopolistic, with one firm controlling 90% of sales.
• Monopolize (verb): To obtain exclusive possession or control of something; to dominate a conversation or activity.
  • The large firm sought to monopolize the industry.
  • Please don't monopolize the discussion; let others speak.

Synonyms

• Control, domination, corner (on the market), exclusive possession, cartel (though a cartel involves a group, not a single entity).

Antonyms

• Competition, free market, open market, duopoly (two sellers), oligopoly (a few sellers).

Idioms and Phrases

• "Monopoly money":
  • Literally, the play money used in the Monopoly board game.
  • Figuratively, money that is perceived as having little real value or being frivolously spent.

    • The budget proposal treats taxpayer funds like monopoly money.

Noun

1. a board game in which players try to gain a monopoly on real estate as pieces advance around the board according to the throw of a die
2. exclusive control or possession of something
   • They have no monopoly on intelligence
3. (economics) a market in which there are many buyers but only one seller
   • a monopoly on silver
   • when you have a monopoly you can ask any price you like