cartel
Americannoun
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an international syndicate, combine, or trust formed especially to regulate prices and output in some field of business.
- Synonyms:
- combination, merger, monopoly
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a coalition of political or special-interest groups having a common cause, as to encourage the passage of a certain law.
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a written agreement between belligerents, especially for the exchange of prisoners.
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a written challenge to a duel.
noun
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Also called: trust. a collusive international association of independent enterprises formed to monopolize production and distribution of a product or service, control prices, etc
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politics an alliance of parties or interests to further common aims
Discover More
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel.
Other Word Forms
- cartelism noun
Etymology
Origin of cartel
1550–60; < Middle French < Italian cartello letter of defiance, poster, equivalent to cart ( a ) carte + -ello diminutive suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While higher prices might seem a boon for OPEC+ countries, it in fact carries the risk of increasing competition from producers outside the cartel, such as the United States, Canada and Brazil.
From Barron's
Venezuela was once a major crude supplier to the United States, and has the world's largest proven reserves with more than 303 billion barrels, according to global oil cartel OPEC.
From Barron's
Analysts had expected the Saudi Arabia-led cartel to agree Sunday to boost output from April.
A combination of overwhelming force and U.S. intelligence helped Mexico kill the cartel boss known as El Mencho.
The inner workings of cartels are intentionally opaque to the outside world.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.