clan

noun

ˈklan 

1

a

: a Celtic group especially in the Scottish Highlands comprising a number of households whose heads claim descent from a common ancestor

the MacDonald clan

b

: a group of people tracing descent from a common ancestor : family

The whole clan gets together for the holidays.

2

: a group united by a common interest or common characteristics

the country club clan

Synonyms

• body
• bunch
• circle
• clique
• community
• coterie
• coven
• crowd
• fold
• galère
• gang
• klatch
• klatsch
• lot
• network
• pack
• ring
• set

Examples of clan in a Sentence

The tribe is divided into clans.

The whole clan gets together for the holidays.

Recent Examples on the Web

The contentious atmosphere is so vividly dramatized that the domestic upheaval of the Mortara clan, and Edgardo’s introduction to an ornate, alien world, have the immediacy of personal experience wryly recalled. —Armond White, National Review, 31 May 2024

Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, and Wyatt Russell; Goldie Hawn The Hawn-Russell clan has no shortage of talent to offer the world. —Aja Hoggatt, EW.com, 29 May 2024

Eight locals were killed in a clash between two rival clans on Saturday in a longstanding dispute unrelated to the landslide. —Rod McGuirk, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 May 2024

The state’s 1960 primary, which set the stage for John F. Kennedy winning the Democratic nomination, is retold by focusing on the stories of the Kennedy clan and the Wisconsin players who rallied to their candidate. —Jim Higgins, Journal Sentinel, 15 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Scottish Gaelic clann offspring, clan, from Old Irish cland plant, offspring, from Latin planta plant

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing clan

• inter-clan
• sub-clan

Kids Definition

clan

noun

ˈklan 

1

a

: a group (as in the Scottish Highlands) made up of households whose heads claim to have a common ancestor

b

: a group of people having a common ancestor : family

2

: a group of persons united by a common interest

the whole clan of actors