underboss

noun

un·​der·​boss ˈən-dər-ˌbȯs How to pronounce underboss (audio)
: a boss ranking next below the head of a branch of a crime syndicate

Examples of underboss in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Twenty minutes earlier, at 5 p.m., Arai had shot to death his underboss, Hideyuki Eiri, aged 54, at the gang office and then driven back to his palatial house. Jake Adelstein, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2023 Franzese grew up as the son of the underboss of New York’s Colombo crime family and by his mid-30s became one of the biggest mafia bosses, ranking No. 18 in Fortune magazine’s list of the 50 most wealthy and powerful Mafia bosses in America in the mid-1980s. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 June 2023 Baldwin's Senate testimony chronicled the numerous plans to kill a Team A underboss with explosives. Ray Sanchez, CNN, 9 Apr. 2022 In April 1978, Team B finally succeeded in killing the underboss with a bomb that exploded under his car. Ray Sanchez, CNN, 9 Apr. 2022 On Columbus Day in 1970, a Rochester mob underboss ordered that a series of dynamite bombs be set off in the early morning hours in houses of worship and government buildings. Ray Sanchez, CNN, 9 Apr. 2022 In a letter filed last October with the court, a Revere woman named Assunta M. Esposito pleaded for leniency for Gennaro Angiulo, the son of the former underboss, in the tax case involving GJ Towing. BostonGlobe.com, 19 Mar. 2021 But the memories of his days in the Mafia now continue with his latest endeavor: The underboss has started a podcast. Eric Shawn, Fox News, 19 Dec. 2020 Gravano pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge and testified at length at trial against Gotti and Frank Locascio, the underboss of the Gambino crime family. Danny Cevallos /, NBC News, 22 Apr. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'underboss.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of underboss was in 1942

Dictionary Entries Near underboss

Cite this Entry

“Underboss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underboss. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

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