Santa Claus

noun

San·​ta Claus ˈsan-tə-ˌklȯz 

 also  ˈsan-tē-

variants or Santa

ˈsan-tə 

: a plump, white-bearded, red-suited, and jolly old man in modern folklore who delivers presents to children at Christmastime

There might be a few weeks left until Christmas, but Santa Claus and his merry elves landed early in Bakersfield because several boys and girls on the nice list caught their attention.

—Ema Sasic

… we had dashed downstairs to the living room to see what Santa had brought and piled up, in great mounds of splendidly wrapped packages, under the Christmas tree—whose angel's halo brushed the ceiling.

—Anthony Bailey

Examples of Santa Claus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The parade featured more than 100 entries and floats, including one with, fittingly, Santa Claus. —Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2025

To believe otherwise is to believe in Santa Claus, ferociously dumb markets, or both. —John Tamny, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025

Fans who have seen McCartney live describe it as something akin to discovering that Santa Claus is not only real but about to play two hours of straight bangers. —Nick Robins-Early, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025

Eagles fans over the years have booed and thrown snowballs at Santa Claus, forced local law enforcement to literally hold arraignment hold court at games and can occasionally launch into misogynistic tirades. —David K. Li, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

modification of Dutch Sinterklaas, alteration of Sint Nikolaas Saint Nicholas

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Santa Claus

• chickasaws
• chippewas
• diapause
• menelaus
• menopause
• tropopause
• ahs
• baas
• cause
• clause
• claws
• coz