monopoly
    n 1: (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"
    2: exclusive control or possession of something; "They have no
       monopoly on intelligence"
    3: 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

Monopoly \Mo*nop"o*ly\, n.; pl. Monopolies. [L. monopolium,
   Gr. ?, ?; mo`nos alone + ? to sell.]
   1. The exclusive power, or privilege of selling a commodity;
      the exclusive power, right, or privilege of dealing in
      some article, or of trading in some market; sole command
      of the traffic in anything, however obtained; as, the
      proprietor of a patented article is given a monopoly of
      its sale for a limited time; chartered trading companies
      have sometimes had a monopoly of trade with remote
      regions; a combination of traders may get a monopoly of a
      particular product.
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            Raleigh held a monopoly of cards, Essex a monopoly
            of sweet wines.                       --Macaulay.
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   2. Exclusive possession; as, a monopoly of land.
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            If I had a monopoly out, they would have part on 't.
                                                  --Shak.
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   3. The commodity or other material thing to which the
      monopoly relates; as, tobacco is a monopoly in France.
      [Colloq.]
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MONOPOLY, commercial law. This word has various significations. 1. It is the 
abuse of free commerce by which one or more individuals have procured the 
advantage of selling alone all of a particular kind of merchandise, to the 
detriment of the public. 
     2.-2. All combinations among merchants to raise the price of 
merchandise to the injury of the public, is also said to be a monopoly. 
     3.-3. A monopoly is also an institution or allowance by a grant from 
the sovereign power of a state, by commission, letters patent, or otherwise, 
to any person, or corporation, by which the exclusive right of buying, 
selling, making, working, or using anything, is given. Bac. Abr. h.t.; 3 
Inst. 181. 
     4. The constitutions of Maryland, North Carolina, and Tennessee, 
declare that "monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free government, 
and ought not to be allowed." Vide art. Copyright; Patent.