To take complete control of something so that no one else can have any part of it, or to take up all of someone's time or attention.
From Greek 'monos' (alone) and 'polein' (to sell), literally 'sole selling right.' The word entered English in the 17th century during mercantile capitalism when governments granted exclusive trading rights to single companies. It later broadened to mean controlling anything exclusively.
The most famous monopolies in history were the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company—these weren't just businesses, they were semi-governments with their own armies! Modern antitrust laws exist specifically because economists realized that monopolies reduce innovation and harm consumers.
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