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

Chris Morgan — whose many credits include several entries in the Fast & Furious franchise — penned the screenplay from Garcia's story idea, and the result is a film that follows a very buff Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), a.k.a. —EW.com, 25 Sep. 2024

Each door delivers a unique holiday favorite including Nick Santa Claus, Manny Snowman, and more. —Brigitt Earley, Glamour, 20 Sep. 2024

Manual Removal of Grass from Flower Beds My uncle, RD Hodges, a North Carolina State Extension Agent, loved to tell homeowners to use the Santa Claus method to remove grass from flower beds—Hoe, Hoe, Hoe. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2024

Her works depict figures from her family, art history, her upbringing and scenes involving some of her favorite pop icons: Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Wonder Woman, Santa Claus, Betty Boop, Olive Oyl and the satirical Chilean cartoon character Condorito. —Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

modification of Dutch Sinterklaas, alteration of Sint Nikolaas Saint Nicholas

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined above