Cosa Nostra
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Cosa Nostra
1960–65; < Italian: literally, our affair
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He had persuaded the F.B.I. to stop using the terms Mafia and Cosa Nostra in its news releases.
From New York Times • May 30, 2024
Former FBI Director James Comey described his first meeting with Trump, in which he demanded loyalty, as feeling “like Sammy the Bull’s Cosa Nostra induction ceremony.”
From Slate • Apr. 30, 2024
Prosecutors had hoped in vain he would collaborate with them and reveal Cosa Nostra secrets.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 25, 2023
The arrest of Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro deals a powerful blow to the mythology of the Cosa Nostra, toppling a symbol of the group's resistance to police efforts to break up organised crime.
From Reuters • Jan. 17, 2023
University of Essex criminology professor Anna Sergi told the BBC it was doubtful Cosa Nostra could survive without its mythological boss, who had become the symbol of the Mafia's resilience.
From BBC • Jan. 17, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
