Mo|nop|o|ly

mo|nop|o|ly «muh NOP uh lee», noun, plural -lies.

1. the exclusive control of a commodity or service: »

In most communities, the telephone company has a monopoly. You have, in this Kingdom, an advantage in lead, that amounts to a monopoly (Edmund Burke).

2. such a control granted by a government: »

An inventor has a monopoly on his invention for a certain number of years. Raleigh held a monopoly of cards, Essex a monopoly of sweet wines (Macaulay).

3. control that is not exclusive but which enables the person or company to fix prices.

4. a commercial product or service that is exclusively controlled or nearly so.

5. a person or company that has a monopoly on some commodity or service: »

The pilots' association was now the compactest monopoly in the world (Mark Twain).

6. the exclusive possession or control of something intangible: »

a monopoly of a person's time. No one person has a monopoly of virtue. Neither side has a monopoly of right or wrong (Edward A. Freeman).

╂[< Latin monopōlium < Greek monop < mónos single + pōleîn to sell]

Mo|nop|o|ly «muh NOP uh lee», noun.

a game played upon a board, in which the players try to accumulate token real-estate parcels and put each other out of business.