Santa Claus

American  

[san-tuh klawz] / ˈsæn tə ˌklɔz /

Or Santa Klaus

noun

1. a benevolent figure of legend, associated with Saint Nicholas, supposed to bring gifts to children on Christmas Eve.

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Santa Claus British  

/ ˈsæntə ˌklɔːz /

noun

1. Often shortened to: Santa.  Also called: Father Christmas.  the legendary patron saint of children, commonly identified with Saint Nicholas, who brings presents to children on Christmas Eve or, in some European countries, on Saint Nicholas' Day

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Etymology

Origin of Santa Claus

1765–75, from Dutch Sinterklaas, equivalent to sint saint + heer (Myn)heer ( def. ) + Klaas, short for Niklaas Nicholas ( def. )

Example Sentences

SantaCon is a ticketed pub-crawl event, which is attended by around 25,000 people dressed as Santa Claus and other holiday characters, according to the charging document against Pildes.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Erdoes loved costumes and on various occasions dressed up as Santa Claus and Mrs. Doubtfire, a character from the 1993 Robin Williams movie.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 10, 2026

Along with the Santa Claus rally test, Hirsch also monitors how stocks perform during the first five trading days of January, and for the month as a whole.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 3, 2026

Even as a kid, I couldn’t relate to people’s excitement over Christmas spirit or Santa Claus.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2026

With his white-gold eyebrows and whiskers and beard, and plump, good-natured, reddish face, Otto looks very much like a young Santa Claus.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez