# corner the market

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/corner-the-market
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To monopolize a resource or commodity, as with the intent of driving up prices.

## Examples

- They want to corner the market on these rare toys.
- By buying up all the local supply of grain, the company managed to corner the market and raise prices significantly.
- The corporation used aggressive tactics to corner the market, effectively preventing any smaller competitors from gaining a foothold in the industry.

## Origin

To 'corner' someone once meant to drive them into a literal corner, where they had no escape — and that is the picture behind cornering a market: buying up enough of a commodity to control its supply, dictate the price, and leave rivals with nowhere to turn. The tactic is ancient. Aristotle tells of Thales of Miletus, who quietly secured every olive press in his region before a bumper harvest, then charged whatever he liked. The financial phrase itself emerged in early-19th-century American trading, with 'corner the market' first recorded in 1836. Its most infamous outing came on Black Friday in 1869, when the financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the New York gold market and triggered a national financial panic.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.