extended family
noun
: a family that includes in one household near relatives (such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in addition to a nuclear family
Given space, there are ways in which even larger populations than the extended family can be accommodated under one roof.—
Paul Oliver
Paul Oliver
also
: an extensive group of people who are related by blood or marriage or who otherwise regard themselves as a large family
Four out of every five people who go through a first divorce remarry … . Thus it is that husbands and wives, their former partners, children and stepchildren, and a whole constellation of grandparents and other relatives are brought together in the new American extended family. —Michael Norman
Michael Norman During his five years at Owen High, he turned his teams into an extended family and tried to instill in his players the same sense of self-worth that Baldwin had imparted to him years before. —William Nack
William Nack Examples of extended family in a Sentence
their extended family includes a grandmother and widowed aunt
Recent Examples on the Web
Her 15-year-old and 11-year-old are still in Texas, living with different extended family members.
—Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Every September, lots of our extended family from across the country return to rural Georgia for the homecoming celebration to eat and to hang out, to just to be present with family.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026
Born in Greenwich, Conn., on April 12, 1951, Noonan was raised by his math-teacher mother Rita and a large extended family after the death of his father, John Ford Noonan Sr.
—Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
The tragedy is impacting not just her own family, but also her extended family in blue.
—Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extended family
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Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Every September, lots of our extended family from across the country return to rural Georgia for the homecoming celebration to eat and to hang out, to just to be present with family.
—Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026
Born in Greenwich, Conn., on April 12, 1951, Noonan was raised by his math-teacher mother Rita and a large extended family after the death of his father, John Ford Noonan Sr.
—Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
The tragedy is impacting not just her own family, but also her extended family in blue.
—Carolyn Gusoff, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extended family
Cite this Entry
“Extended family.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extended%20family. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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