monopoly
/məˈnɒpəli/ (bre, ipa) · /məˈnɑːpəli/ (ame, ipa) · /mə-ˈnä-p(ə-)lē/ (ame, mw)
monopoly — 名詞
- monopolysingular
- monopoliesplural
1. a market situation in which one company or group is the only seller of a particu
壟斷
獨佔某產品或服務的市場
a market situation in which one company or group is the only seller of a particular product or service, giving it total power over price and supply without any competition
Kian's software firm held a monopoly on payment processing in Southeast Asia for a decade.
Kian 的軟體公司在東南亞的支付處理領域擁有長達十年的壟斷地位。
monopoly + on + [domain]
The government broke up the railroad monopoly to allow smaller companies to compete fairly.
政府打破了鐵路壟斷，讓較小的公司也能公平競爭。
break up + a + monopoly
When one company holds a monopoly, consumers usually pay higher prices with fewer choices.
當一家公司壟斷市場時，消費者通常要支付更高的價格，選擇也更少。
Chidi argued that the new patent would create an unfair monopoly on essential medicines.
Chidi 認為，這項新專利會對基本藥物形成不公平的壟斷。
Valentina's research showed how the monopoly controlled water prices across the region.
Valentina 的研究顯示了這家壟斷企業如何控制整個地區的水價。
- control
much broader; does not imply exclusivity or lack of competition
- dominance
implies being the strongest player, not the only one; softer than monopoly
- exclusivity
focuses on legal or contractual sole-supplier rights rather than market power
- corner (informal)
verb phrase 'corner the market' — implies strategic capture of supply, not necessarily legal
- competition
a market with multiple sellers; the opposite condition of monopoly
- free market
an economic system where no single entity dominates trade
文法句型
monopoly + on/over/of + [domain]
hold/have + a + monopoly + on + [domain]
用法筆記
Countable when referring to a specific market or entity ('a monopoly on rare minerals'); uncountable when discussing the concept in general ('Monopoly hurts consumer choice'). The prepositions on and over are both common, though on is more frequent in modern usage. of appears in older or legal writing.