monopoly
/məˈnɑpəli/noun
monopoly is spelled M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, monopoly means “A situation, by legal privilege or other agreement, in which solely one party (company, cartel etc.) exclusively provides a particular product or…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of monopoly is monopolies.
How many letters and syllables are in monopoly?
| Letters | 8: M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.9 times per million words; the 9,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is monopoly?
Monopoly appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce monopoly?
- UK /məˈnɒpəli/
- US /məˈnɑpəli/
- Canada /məˈnɒpəli/
Monopoly has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-monopoly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with monopoly?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as monopoly from its last stressed vowel (/ɑpəli/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of monopoly
- monopolies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does monopoly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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.
- 2
An exclusive control over the trade or production of a commodity or service through exclusive possession.
A land monopoly renders its holder(s) nearly almighty in an agricultural society.
- 3
The privilege granting the exclusive right to exert such control.
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.
- 4
The market thus controlled.
- 5
The holder (person, company or other) of such market domination in one of the above manners.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Monopoly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | monopole |
| German | Monopol |
| Portuguese | monopólio |
| Spanish | monopolio , monopolista |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does monopoly come from?
From Latin monopōlium, from Ancient Greek μονοπώλιον (monopṓlion, “a right of exclusive sale”), from μόνος (mónos, “sole”) + πωλέω (pōléō, “to barter, sell”). By surface analysis, mono- + -poly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).