Mafia

American  

[mah-fee-uh, maf-ee-uh] / ˈmɑ fi ə, ˈmæf i ə /

Rarely Maffia

noun

1. the Mafia, a hierarchically structured secret organization allegedly engaged in smuggling, racketeering, trafficking in narcotics, and other criminal activities in the United States, Italy, and elsewhere.

2. Usually mafia any criminal organization viewed as similar to the Mafia.

   The movie concerns a low-life gambler who borrows money from the French mafia for a seat at a high-stakes poker game.

3. Often mafia any small but powerful or influential group in an organization or field; an inordinately prominent and controlling clique.

   It was difficult to be the only woman involved in this macho, musical mafia.

4. (in Sicily)

   1. mafia, a popular attitude of hostility to legal restraint and to the law, often manifesting itself in criminal acts.

   2. a 19th-century secret society, similar to the Camorra in Naples, associated with this attitude toward law and crime.

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Mafia British  

/ ˈmæfɪə /

noun

1. an international secret organization founded in Sicily, probably in opposition to tyranny. It developed into a criminal organization and in the late 19th century was carried to the US by Italian immigrants

2. any group considered to resemble the Mafia See also Black Hand Camorra Cosa Nostra

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Mafia Cultural  

1. A criminal organization that originated in Sicily and was brought to the United States by Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century. The Mafia is also called the Syndicate, the Mob, and the Cosa Nostra (Our Thing). The Mafia built its power through extortion (forcing tradesmen and shopkeepers to buy Mafia protection against destruction) and by dominating the bootlegging industry (the illegal production and distribution of liquor) during Prohibition. Members of the Mafia often lead outwardly respectable lives and maintain a variety of legitimate businesses as a front, or cover, for their criminal activities, which include extortion, gambling, and narcotics distribution.

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Etymology

Origin of Mafia

First recorded in 1870–75; from Italian, earlier maffia “arrogance” (in Sicilian: “bravery, excellence”), apparently a back formation from mafiuso mafioso ( def. )

Explanation

A mafia is a close-knit group, club, or clique. You might privately refer to the kids who ride horses after school as the "equestrian mafia." When mafia is spelled with a lower-case m, it usually means a group with common interests that sticks together, excludes others, and protects its members. It's a flippant use of a word that mainly refers to a criminal organization, the Mafia. When you call everyone in the school play "the theater mafia," you don't mean they're violent criminals — they're just a little dramatic.

Example Sentences

The other artists topping the bill included The Black Keys — who brought out John Fogerty for a Levon Helm tribute Weekend 2 — Radiohead, Pulp and Swedish House Mafia.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

They include Atomfall, the survival game set in an alternative history version of the Lake District, as well as Mafia: The Old Country and Powerwash Simulator 2 - both developed in Brighton.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Calm, lawyerly, reasonable, he was the smooth corporation man who made the Mafia professional.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

"I played Mafia growing up... I played that for 15 years. I became very good at any game where I had to play a straight face."

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

Like Mr. Paresi, a pimpy Brooklyn lawyer who my mother claims is the number-one criminal defense attorney in New York, complete with an impressive roster of Mafia clients.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García