oligopoly

1 of 2

noun (1)

ol·​i·​gop·​o·​ly ˌä-lə-ˈgä-pə-lē How to pronounce oligopoly (audio)
ˌō-
: a market situation in which each of a few producers affects but does not control the market
oligopolist
ˌä-lə-ˈgä-pə-list How to pronounce oligopoly (audio)
ˌō-
noun
oligopolistic
ˌä-lə-ˌgä-pə-ˈli-stik How to pronounce oligopoly (audio)
ˌō-
adjective

oligopolist

2 of 2

noun (2)

ol·​i·​gop·​o·​list ˌäləˈgäpələ̇st How to pronounce oligopolist (audio)
plural -s
: a member of an oligopolistic industry or market

Examples of oligopoly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Apple could miss the quarter because of the oligopoly and be revealed to be too expensive a stock. — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 June 2026 The biggest hurdle for this nascent market is that compute is an oligopoly and the oligopolists are doing just fine. — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 26 May 2026 In a media system that has veered back to following Hollywood’s yellow brick rules of the road, the new oligopolies are an awful lot like the old ones. — Matthew Jordan, The Conversation, 12 Dec. 2025 By traditional metrics of these things, monopoly, oligopoly, there’s definitely a very high bar. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for oligopoly

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

olig- + -poly (as in monopoly)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of oligopoly was in 1895

Rhymes for oligopoly

See All Rhymes for oligopoly

Browse Nearby Words

oligopolistic
oligopoly
oligopsonist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Oligopoly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligopoly. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Legal Definition

oligopoly

noun
ol·​i·​gop·​o·​ly ˌä-li-ˈgä-pə-lē, ˌō- How to pronounce oligopoly (audio)
plural oligopolies
: a condition in which a few sellers dominate a particular market to the detriment of competition by others

More from Merriam-Webster on oligopoly

Nglish: Translation of oligopoly for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about oligopoly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All