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

On paper, Santa Claus has more in common with cold-blooded murderers than the average man. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 21 Dec. 2025

Will Santa Claus come to Wall Street? —Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC, 21 Dec. 2025

Next year, the park will debut an all-new parade called Stars, Lights & Christmas Nights Parade featuring beloved characters from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and even a visit from Santa Claus. —Megan Dubois, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025

Brent Rasmussen as Santa Claus. —Kerry Breen, CBS News, 20 Dec. 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