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 of clan

• clique
• community
• crowd
• network
• circle
• pack
• bunch
• gang
• coven
• tribe
• organization

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 youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan was snapper whispering sweet nothings to her beau as the pair watched a match during the BNP Paribas Open in March. —Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026

The Hough clan just got a little bigger. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026

Among them is their human familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), who tries to keep up with the clan's everyday chaos in hopes of one day becoming immortal. —James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026

But as the overly entitled matriarch of her North Carolinian clan, Parker Posey’s Victoria Ratliff was the one nobody could stop talking about. —Vogue, 31 Dec. 2025

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

Rhymes for clan

• an
• ban
• bran
• can
• cann
• duan
• fan
• flan
• gran
• jann
• klan
• lan

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