mafia
A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like…A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
» His grandfather worked for the mafia.
Meaning
4 sensesA hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
A crime syndicate.
Mafia
ма́фияmáfija
ма́фіяmáfija
a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
A trusted group of associates, as of a political leader.
any tightly knit group of trusted associates
(in compounds)An entity which attempts to control a specified arena by violence or threats.
moral mafia
Examples
52 sentencesHis grandfather worked for the mafia.
He sold weapons to the mafia.
Algeria needs to fight its corrupt mafia.
I've got the mafia looking for me.
I take part of the alphabet mafia.
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
See Mafia. The sense "entity which attempts to control a specified arena" makes an analogySee Mafia. The sense "entity which attempts to control a specified arena" makes an analogy to crime-syndicate mafias' attempts to control certain kinds of business in the regions in which they exist.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: mafiasSynonyms
3 synonyms- any tightly knit group of trusted associates:maffia
- a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century:MaffiaSicilian Mafia
- a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia:MaffiaCosa Nostra