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

Not as great of a kids’ parade as the one at Christmas with elves and Santa Claus and toys and snowmen. —David McGrath, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026

Tourists swarm in for the Northern Lights and a sitdown with Santa Claus. —Liam Denning, Bloomberg, 12 Mar. 2026

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, 11 Mar. 2026

Winter also marks the arrival of Santa Claus, who makes his way to downtown Holland during the Parade of Lights, held each year in late November or early December. —Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2026

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