clan

noun \ ˈklan \

Updated on: 23 May 2018

Definition of clan

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

See clan defined for English-language learners

See clan defined for kids

Examples of clan in a Sentence

The tribe is divided into clans.
The whole clan gets together for the holidays.

Recent Examples of clan from the Web

The permanent population, with its many retirees, is its own clan, residents say.

— julie lasky, New York Times, "Shelter Island, N.Y.: A Paradise That Has Its Challenges," 16 May 2018
There are some fetching rural lodgings here, too, particularly those run by Count Tibor Kálnoky, a tall and gracious 51-year-old from a clan of Hungarian nobles that was exiled during the Communist years.

— christopher bagley, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Bewitching Time Warp of Transylvania, Romania," 4 May 2018
Since then, the family has graced our Instagram timelines with the cutest photos of their clan, such as this Easter Sunday picture (bunny ears included).

— shanté honeycutt, Billboard, "Thomas Rhett & Family: Their Cutest Instagram Moments," 2 Apr. 2018
The other members of their merry OASIS clan, Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao), are a ninja and a shogun in VR; in real life, they're revealed to be Japanese and ... well, that's it.

— peter rubin, WIRED, "Ready Player One Is a Virtually Empty Good Time," 29 Mar. 2018
Lie and pose as a perspective political clan and got great information, but isn't that kind of unethical.

— Fox News, "Mainstream media bash Bolton," 26 Mar. 2018
When all the gnomes are kidnapped, Sherlock Gnomes (Johnny Depp) swoops in to investigate with his trusty helper/partner Watson (Chiwetel Ejiofor), while Gnomeo and Juliet join up to help find their gnome clan.

— katie walsh, kansascity, "‘Sherlock Gnomes’ is a garden-variety kid movie | The Kansas City Star," 22 Mar. 2018
East Pender Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown is home to many such clubs for clans or benevolent associations.

— The Economist, "The property battle in Vancouver’s Chinatown," 12 Apr. 2018
Neither the Kardashian clan nor Thompson has commented on the rumors.

— andrea mandell, USA TODAY, "Khloe Kardashian gives birth to a baby girl in Cleveland," 12 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'clan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.