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.
Police say their latest investigation follows some of the Cosa Nostra money trail.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
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
Despite his notoriety, prosecutors have always doubted that Messina Denaro became the Mafia "boss of bosses", saying it was more likely that he was simply the head of Cosa Nostra in western Sicily.
From Reuters ● Sep. 25, 2023
While Messina Denaro wielded great influence in the Mafia, for decades Cosa Nostra has lacked a supreme capo, investigators say.
From Seattle Times ● 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.
