Definition of "yakuza" []

• A loose alliance of Japanese criminal organizations and illegal enterprises. (noun)
• A Japanese gangster. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The word yakuza itself comes from a losing hand in gambling. 893 ya-ku-za."
• "They were called yakuza, he knew, “yaks” for short."
• "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."