yakuza
31
9.9
- noun
- /jɑːˈkuːzə/
:
yakuza
- Other international criminal groups that have been subject to similar sanctions by the Treasury Department include the Yakuza, a Japanese organized crime group, and the ruthless Mexican cartel.
- yakuza gangster
- Yakuza boss
- yakuza crime
And they would actually go into the distributor's house, the Yakuza, they have these black trucks with big megaphones out of.
- And they would actually go into the distributor's house, the Yakuza, they have these black trucks with big megaphones out of.
- Till then, it's your average consumer face Yakuza.
Examples
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The police are investigating the activities of the yakuza in the city.
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There was no doubt that the yakuza would soon get wind of the potential profits and demand a cut.
Fiction book (1998) -
Why is the Yakuza after it?
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The yakuza always pay on time.
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You must learn to value our Yakuza code over your individual desires.
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I didn't know there were Yakuza in America.
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Damon learns this the hard way when his friend runs into trouble with the Yakuza.
Blog text (9) -
She testified against the yakuza bosses in San Francisco.
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Dylan, wielding kendo sticks, spars with two Yakuza.
Fiction book (2000) -
The Yakuza traffics women from the Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Korea, Nepal, and Laos into Japan.
Academic text (2003)
Synonyms
249
4.4
A person who is part of a group that does illegal things
55
4.8
A small group of people who work together secretly to control things for their own benefit
8
4.5
An organized group of criminals who work together to do illegal things
Surface Forms
Etymology
Yakuza comes from a Japanese name for a losing card hand made of the parts ya- '8', ku- '9' and za '3'. Gamblers with that bad hand were called 'yakuza', and over time the name moved from those gamblers to the criminal groups, so yakuza now means a member of Japanese organized crime.