A monopoly refers to the fact that one company and its product offerings dominate a sector or industry. Monopolies can be considered as an extreme consequence of the free market economy, in the absence of restrictions or regulations, where a company or economic group becomes large enough to monopolize all (or almost all) of the market – goods, supplies – raw materials, infrastructure, and technology- of a particular type of product or service.
Antitrust laws are regulations that encourage competition by limiting the market power of a particular firm. This often involves ensuring that mergers and acquisitions do not overtly concentrate large market power or form monopolies.