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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, you know, and things like people's secret Santa presents and that kind of thing."

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

Tommy Dorfman married partner Elise Williams in a secret Santa Monica ceremony in 2023, but the couple’s adorable love story was nothing the actor expected.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2024

But one thing seems sure: People are fed up with getting on screens for cocktail mixing or secret Santa exchanges.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 14, 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

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