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mafia

mafia

55 4.8
A small group of people who work together secretly to control things for their own benefit
  • noun
  • /ˈmɑːfiə/
translation icon : mafia
  • Many movies depict the mafia as a network of organized crime operating in secrecy.
  • a mafia-style organization

Like that is the head, like the mafia boss of the busboys, right?

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Examples

  • But you're not like, you know... in the Mafia, right?

  • The man had not only gone from football to the mafia, but had made the second, steeper evolutionary leap to entrepreneur.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • And I said, "What big Mafia case?"

  • Is there any reason that you can think of why people like the Mafia would want your husband killed?

    Fiction book (1992)
  • That kid wants to join the Mafia.

  • Let's get back to our story about the mafia and olive oil.

  • We should be investigating our mafia leads here in New Orleans.

  • Again, it's like the mafia wanting to get a cut from people's own earnings.

    Blog text (15)
  • Uncle in the Jewish mafia that runs the racetrack.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • RICO allowed law enforcement to get into areas that it'd never been before when it came to investigating the mafia.

Synonyms

gang
vsmafia
832 2.8

A group of people who commit crimes together

stresses stronger secrecy and exclusive coordination for group benefit
ring
vsmafia
  • Literature
263 7.2

A group of people who work together to do illegal things

focuses more on close personal ties and secretive group identity
mob
vsmafia
180 5.3

A group of criminals who run illegal businesses together

highlights tighter secrecy and exclusive mutual promotion rather than general organization
syndicate
vsmafia
34 7.3

A group of people who run illegal businesses together

is more personal and emphasizes close, secret connections rather than business form
cabal
vsmafia
  • Formal
32 8.9

A secret group that plans together to gain power, often in politics

is more about criminal organization and shared illegal business interest rather than plotting
yakuza
vsmafia
31 9.9

A person who belongs to a Japanese criminal gang or the gang itself

is the general concept of secret, closely linked groups beyond any single culture
crime syndicate
vsmafia
8 4.5

An organized group of criminals who work together to do illegal things

adds the idea of close, exclusive ties and secret promotion of group interests
Cosa Nostra
vsmafia
  • NSFW
6 8.9

An organized criminal group in the United States linked to the Sicilian Mafia

is a broader label for similar secretive groups promoting their own interests
Camorra
vsmafia
1 9.9

An organized crime group from Naples, Italy that uses violence and blackmail

is the wider concept covering similar secretive groups regardless of local origin
Sicilian Mafia
vsmafia
  • NSFW
1 6.7

An organized criminal group from Sicily that uses violence to control illegal businesses

is the general idea for such secretive, self-serving groups
Maffia
vsmafia
  • Archaic
9.1

A secret criminal group from Sicily that controls illegal activities

serves as the standard name for that general secretive group type
crookery
vsmafia
9.9

A group of dishonest people who work together to commit crimes

is more formal and stresses exclusivity and coordinated secret actions

Compounds

1 6.7

An organized criminal group from Sicily that uses violence to control illegal businesses

9.9

A joking or critical phrase that says LGBT people secretly control media and politics

9.9

A slang phrase for people who support LGBTQ+ rights, used to insult them as a powerful group

How Secretive

cabal
  • Formal
32 8.9
mafia
55 4.8
clique
45 6.4

Surface Forms

mafia singular
mafias plural

Etymology

Mafia comes from the Sicilian word mafiusu, which meant 'bold' or 'proud' and was used for someone who gave 'protection' to their group. Some people also link it to an Arabic word that meant 'protection' or 'shelter'. That's why mafia today describes a group that acts together, often secretly, to protect and push its own interests.