Mafia

The word “Mafia” means an organized crime syndicate built on secrecy, hierarchy, and intimidation, especially (capitalized) the Sicilian and Italian-American criminal network. In plain terms, a secretive criminal organization — or, jokingly, any powerful clique that seems to run things behind the scenes.

“Mafia” is pronounced MA-fee-uh (/ˈmɑfi.ə/ in IPA).

Here is “Mafia” used in a sentence: “The film follows a young man drawn into the mafia in 1950s New York.”

“Mafia” is a noun.

The word “Mafia” dates back to around 1800 and comes from Italian. From Italian mafia, of disputed origin, most likely tied to 19th-century Sicilian dialect.

“Mafia” is an uncommon word in modern English.

“Mafia” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an organized crime syndicate built on secrecy, hierarchy, and intimidation, especially (capitalized) the Sicilian and Italian-American criminal network.

The Mafia specifically refers to an organized crime syndicate built on secrecy, hierarchy, and intimidation, especially the Sicilian and Italian-American criminal network. Organized crime is a broader term covering any structured criminal enterprise, of which the Mafia is one well-known example.

Informally, mafia can describe any tightly-knit group perceived as controlling something through influence or pressure rather than actual crime, such as a 'tech mafia' dominating an industry. This usage is figurative and does not imply criminal activity.

Mafia is a social deduction party game in which players secretly assigned as 'mafia' try to eliminate the rest of the group without being identified. Other players must use discussion and deduction to figure out who among them is secretly working against the group.