Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A loose alliance of Japanese criminal organizations and illegal enterprises.
- noun A Japanese gangster.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A Japanese
organized crime gang - noun A
member of a Japanese organized crime gang
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a Japanese gangster
- noun organized crime in Japan; an alliance of criminal organizations and illegal enterprises
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The word yakuza itself comes from a losing hand in gambling. 893 ya-ku-za.
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They were called yakuza, he knew, “yaks” for short.
A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009
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They were called yakuza, he knew, “yaks” for short.
A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009
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They were called yakuza, he knew, “yaks” for short.
A Bob Lee Swagger eBook Boxed Set Stephen Hunter 2009
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The dark, hedonistic world of the yakuza is the focus, though this story is about the illegal sex trade, a malefic home for unwanted Chinese girls, not a black market for fish.
Webs of Discord by Jason Sizemore « Michele Lee’s Book Love 2008
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Keiko Itokazu, an independent legislator, said she was concerned that organized crime, known as the yakuza, would exploit casinos for prostitution and selling drugs.
unknown title 2011
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It has denied rumors that it sought the aid of Japan's notorious organized crime syndicates, known as the yakuza, to help orchestrate the cover-up.
NYT > Home Page By HIROKO TABUCHI 2011
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Keiko Itokazu, an independent legislator, said she was concerned that organized crime, known as the yakuza, would exploit casinos for prostitution and selling drugs.
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Adelstein calls the yakuza "Goldman Sachs with guns" because of the prowess with which their groups' roughly 80,000 members infiltrate companies through extortion and intimidation.
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Keiko Itokazu, an independent legislator, said she was concerned that organized crime, known as the yakuza, would exploit casinos for prostitution and selling drugs.
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If you've managed to find this article after being slandered and called a proshipper, I'd like to reassure you, "Don't worry about it, those are just American feelings yakuza."
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In fact in 2023, in a weird full circle moment, Japanese internet users learned about this new distinctly American online ugliness, which is especially prevalent in western fandom spaces, and coined the term “feelings yakuza,” to describe it. They use it to mean "those who turn their personal discomfort into a social evil and try to erase the target completely.”
Everyone's very angry online right now Ryan Broderick 2026
hernesheir commented on the word yakuza
The worst hand in the Japanese card game oichokabu is an eight, a nine and a three - literally "ya-ku-za" - the origin of the Japanese word for gangster, yakuza.
December 11, 2010