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
Prosecutors say Messina Denaro was one of the leading figures in Cosa Nostra but preferred to remain in his own region and was not the "boss of bosses" like the late Salvatore "Toto" Riina.
From Reuters ● Jan. 18, 2023
Italy’s national anti-Mafia prosecutor, Giovanni Melillo, said that finally putting Messina Denaro behind bars won’t change the strategy Cosa Nostra has followed for more than a decade.
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.
