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secret Santa

British

noun

1. a system whereby each member of a group chooses at random another member of the group for whom to buy a Christmas present at an agreed cost, so that each member buys one present and receives one present
2. a person chosen in this way to buy another person's Christmas present

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Ann Thorpe, an auctioneer at Dartmoor Auctions, said "I think you do sometimes get ironic buys. Things like people's secret Santa presents and that kind of thing."

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

She offered rides, cooked dinners, helped with school and surprised teammates with a secret Santa Christmas party and a Valentine’s Day scavenger hunt around campus.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2022

"Aside from that I’ve been doing secret Santa at the local Walmart letting parents load up shopping carts worth of toys for their kids."

From Fox News • Dec. 25, 2021

Mr W got a pub quizmaster’s set from a secret Santa, with really basic questions such as: “Who sang the Big Bang Theory theme tune?”

From The Guardian • Feb. 13, 2020

But our secret Santa is more likely a big-hearted friend.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2018

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023