oligopoly

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˌɒlɪˈɡɒpəlɪ/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(ol′i gop′ə lē)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ol•i•gop•o•ly  (ol′i gop′ə lē),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Businessthe market condition that exists when there are few sellers, as a result of which they can greatly influence price and other market factors. Cf. duopoly, monopoly (def. 1).
  • 1890–95; oligo- + (mono)poly
ol•i•gop•o•lis•tic  (ol′i gop′ə lis′tik),USA pronunciation adj. 
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
oligopoly / ˌɒlɪˈɡɒpəlɪ/ ( -lies)
  1. a market situation in which control over the supply of a commodity is held by a small number of producers each of whom is able to influence prices and thus directly affect the position of competitors
Etymology: 20th Century: from oligo- + Greek pōlein to sell, on the model of monopolyˌoliˌgopoˈlistic
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
du•op•o•ly  (do̅o̅ op′ə lē, dyo̅o̅-),USA pronunciation n., pl. -lies. 
  1. Businessthe market condition that exists when there are only two sellers. Cf. monopoly (def. 1), oligopoly. 
  • duo- + (mono)poly 1915–20

'oligopoly' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
duopoly - monopoly - oligo-

Forum discussions with the word(s) "oligopoly" in the title:


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