MAFIA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Mafia mean? 

• MAFIA (noun)
  The noun MAFIA has 3 senses:

1. a crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia

2. a secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century

3. any tightly knit group of trusted associates

  Familiarity information: MAFIA used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAFIA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

Cosa Nostra; Maffia; Mafia

Hypernyms ("Mafia" is a kind of...):

crime syndicate; family; mob; syndicate (a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities)

Meronyms (members of "Mafia"):

mafioso (a member of the Mafia crime syndicate in the United States)

Domain member category:

omerta (a code of silence practiced by the Mafia; a refusal to give evidence to the police about criminal activities)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

Maffia; Mafia; Sicilian Mafia

Hypernyms ("Mafia" is a kind of...):

gangdom; gangland; organized crime (underworld organizations)

Meronyms (members of "Mafia"):

mafioso (a member of the Sicilian Mafia)

Domain category:

act of terrorism; terrorism; terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any tightly knit group of trusted associates

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

maffia; mafia

Hypernyms ("mafia" is a kind of...):

camp; clique; coterie; ingroup; inner circle; pack (an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

 Context examples 

You’ll find that my theory of the Mafia will work out all right.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The other fellow is probably an Italian also, and a member of the Mafia.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He is connected with the Mafia, which, as you know, is a secret political society, enforcing its decrees by murder.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)