mafia

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++maf·i·a /ˈmæfiə $ ˈmɑː-, ˈmæ-/ noun  1. the Mafia SCCa large organized group of criminals who control many illegal activities, especially in Italy and the US 黑手党2  GROUP OF PEOPLE[singular] a powerful group of people within an organization or profession who support and protect each other 〔某组织或行业内部相互支持并相互保护的〕势力集团 the medical mafia 医学界的势力集团

Examples from the Corpus

mafia• These days they were more likely to be arm-breakers from the Bombay mafia.• But the drug mafia also has infiltrated other law-enforcement agencies, the army captain alleged.• the legal mafia• Or will the 40-year economic blockade be maintained simply to satisfy the second-generation Miami mafia?• Confronted with Dolle I felt myself becoming a punk mafia dude.• Collusion between the mafia, police and political parties was routine for decades.• He opened a haulage firm, sold jewellery and developed property interests in Miami, allegedly working with the mafia.Origin mafia (1800-1900) Italian Italian dialect, “great confidence, proud talk”

maf·i·a nounChineseSyllable  

of organized who Corpus group a large criminals

mafia
maf‧i‧a /ˈmæfiə $ ˈmɑː-, ˈmæ-/ noun1. the Mafia a large organized group of criminals who control many illegal activities, especially in Italy and the US
2. [singular] a powerful group of people within an organization or profession who support and protect each other:
    the medical mafia

MafiaBrE /ˈmæfiə/ 🔊NAmE /ˈmɑːfiə/ 🔊 nounthe Mafia [singular + singular or plural verb] a secret organization of criminals, that is active especially in Sicily, Italy and the US 黑手党（尤活跃于意大利西西里和美国）mafia [countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people within an organization or a community who use their power to get advantages for themselves 小集团；小帮派；团伙；社会黑帮◆a member of the local mafia当地黑社会中的一名成员◆Politics is still dominated by the middle-class mafia. 政治仍然操纵在中产阶级帮派手中。🔊🔊