Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

monopsony

/məˈnɑpsəni/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.75 in modern English

Syllables
mon-op-so-ny
IPA
/məˈnɑpsəni/
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A market situation in which there is only one buyer for a product.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos, “alone, solitary; singular, unique”) + ὀψωνέω (opsōnéō, “to buy fish or victuals in general”) + -y, modelled after monopoly. ὀψωνέω is from ὄψον (ópson, “delicacies”) + ὠνέομαι (ōnéomai, “to buy, purchase”). The English word was coined by British classics scholar Bertrand Hallward (1901–2003), and popularized by British economist Joan Robinson (1903–1983) in her book The Economics of Imperfect Competition (1933): see the quotation.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /məˈnɑpsəni/
  • British English: /məˈnɒpsəni/

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce monopsony?
The recorded pronunciation is /məˈnɑpsəni/.
What does monopsony mean?
A market situation in which there is only one buyer for a product.
Where does monopsony come from?
It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce monopsony

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “monopsony”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/məˈnɑpsəni/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “monopsony”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “monopsony” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.