definition
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.
definition
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.
definition
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.
definition
(metonymy) The market thus controlled.
definition
(metonymy) The holder (person, company or other) of such market domination in one of the above manners.
synonyms