car ‧ tel /kɑːˈtel $ kɑːr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: 'document' , from Old Italian cartello , from carta ; ⇨ ↑ card 1 ]
a group of people or companies who agree to sell something at a particular price in order to prevent competition and increase profits ⇨ monopoly :
an illegal drug cartel