mafia

Plural: mafias

Noun

• A hierarchical, secret criminal organization of Italian-American origin.
• a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
• a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century
• any tightly knit group of trusted associates
• A hierarchically structured secret organisation engaged in illegal activities like distribution of narcotics, gambling and extortion.
• A crime syndicate.
• A trusted group of associates, as of a political leader.
• An entity which attempts to control a specified arena by violence or threats.

Examples

• The strategic placement of MAFIA felt like an organized crime in the game of Scrabble.

Synonyms

Cosa Nostra, maffia, Maffia, Sicilian Mafia