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Noun: mafia  maa-fee-u [N. Amer], ma-fee-u [Brit]
Usage: informal
  1. Any tightly knit group of trusted associates
    "The office mafia controlled all the important projects";
    - maffia [informal]
Noun: Mafia  maa-fee-u [N. Amer], ma-fee-u [Brit]
  1. A secret terrorist group in Sicily; originally opposed tyranny but evolved into a criminal organization in the middle of the 19th century
    - Maffia, Sicilian Mafia
     
  2. A crime syndicate in the United States; organized in families; believed to have important relations to the Sicilian Mafia
    - Maffia, Cosa Nostra

Derived forms: Mafias, mafias

Type of: camp, clique, coterie, crime syndicate, family, gangdom, gangland, ingroup, inner circle, mob, organised crime [Brit], organized crime, pack, syndicate

Encyclopedia: Mafia