oligopoly
2
9.6
- noun
- /ˌɑːlɪˈɡɒpəli/
- Specialized
:
oligopolio
- The tech industry's oligopoly allows a few companies to set prices and control market trends.
- oligopoly and monopoly
- oligopoly markets
- oligopoly and monopolistic competition
We will continue next time by talking about oligopoly.
- We will continue next time by talking about oligopoly.
Examples
-
In general, OPEC has been described as a monopoly, an oligopoly, and a cartel.
Academic text (2000) -
OPEC is constituted of a group of nations, not companies, joined in a loosely cooperating oligopoly.
Academic text (1993) -
The result can be the monopoly or oligopoly of some newspapers.
Academic text (2000) -
In a natural oligopoly, economies of scale tend to give large companies a significant competitive advantage over small ones.
Academic text (1996) -
We assume that the market structure for generation in location 1 is a Bertrand oligopoly.
Academic text (1992) -
Critics argued that privileged industrial and financial groups were conniving to create a de facto oligopoly in the steel sector.
Academic text (1998) -
Buyouts, mergers, and acquisitions have led to an oligopoly of four major integrated hospital systems.
Academic text (1997) -
In particular, spot markets for fruit and vegetables have virtually been replaced with markets dominated by oligopoly buyers exerting high levels of buying power through contract farming.
Academic text (2005) -
As Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com, puts it: "the oligopoly has tightened."
Blog text (23) -
In terms of ownership, there is a preference for the private sector to have a role, but not to the extent that state monopoly becomes private monopoly or oligopoly: it is diversity that is sought for its presumed resilience and dynamism.
Academic text (2018)
Synonyms
4
8.2
Two companies or groups that dominate a market
Antonyms
How Concentrated
- Specialized
148
4.9
- Specialized
2
9.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
oligopoly = oligo + poly
The term is built from classical combining forms meaning 'few' and 'sell', but because these elements are not productive everyday English morphemes, the meaning is only partly inferable for typical learners.
Etymology
Oligopoly comes from the Greek root oligos meaning 'few' and a part that means 'to sell', and you can see the same idea in monopoly ('one seller'). So, an oligopoly is a market with just a few sellers who can control supply and influence prices.