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
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
But Trump has already indicated a willingness to meddle in the workings of media companies — and given his closeness with the Ellison clan, he’s widely expected to weigh in.
—
Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University and a former IDF intelligence officer, said Hamas has seized the clans’ weapons and money, much of it originating from Israel, drawing parallels to Hezbollah’s takeover of southern Lebanon in 2000.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
However, Hamas members have also waged deadly shootouts with Palestinian clans, which are essentially armed gangs.
—NPR, 16 Oct. 2025
For more than a year now, Israel has pushed the idea of shoring up the clans and bypassing both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the aftermath of the war.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clan
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Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2025
Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University and a former IDF intelligence officer, said Hamas has seized the clans’ weapons and money, much of it originating from Israel, drawing parallels to Hezbollah’s takeover of southern Lebanon in 2000.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
However, Hamas members have also waged deadly shootouts with Palestinian clans, which are essentially armed gangs.
—NPR, 16 Oct. 2025
For more than a year now, Israel has pushed the idea of shoring up the clans and bypassing both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the aftermath of the war.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for clan
Cite this Entry
“Clan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clan. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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