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

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, 28 Sep. 2025

Weather permitting, Santa Claus paraglides into town each afternoon. —AFAR Media, 24 Sep. 2025

Hire Santa, a Santa Claus booking service and talent agency, hires Santas every year for mall/retail jobs, family events, corporate events and more. —Vicki Salemi, Boston Herald, 21 Sep. 2025

Pascoal, who resembles a cross between a Latino Santa Claus and Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, regards his talent as a gift from God. —George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Sep. 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