cartel
noun/kɑːˈtel/
/kɑːrˈtel/
[countable + singular or plural verb]- a group of separate companies that agree to increase profits by fixing prices and not competing with each other
- to operate an illegal cartel
- Police believe the cartel is/are looking for new locations to operate.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryCartel is used after these nouns:- cocaine
- drug
Word Originlate 19th cent.: from German Kartell, from French cartel, from Italian cartello, diminutive of carta, from Latin carta, charta, from Greek khartēs ‘papyrus leaf’. It was originally used to refer to the coalition of the Conservatives and National Liberal parties in Germany (1887), and hence any political combination; later meaning a trade agreement (early 20th cent.).
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cartel