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

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

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

Synonyms

• home
• house
• household
• ménage

Examples of extended family in a Sentence

their extended family includes a grandmother and widowed aunt

Recent Examples on the Web

Back home as a kid living on his grandfather’s property, he was surrounded by other members of his extended family — aunts, uncles, and cousins. —Jeff Gage, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2023

And then there's the part about playing host to your extended family. —Sari Hitchins, Parents, 17 Nov. 2023

And, of course, my extended family, which includes a victim of torture, gives me hope. —Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023

Today most of the house lies in black ash, torched by Hamas terrorists who are believed to have kidnapped Shoshan and her extended family of 10 into Gaza on Oct. 7 — the day Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,400 people and plunging the area into war. —Andrea Mandell, Peoplemag, 15 Oct. 2023

Her parents survived, but many extended family members did not. —Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2023

And eight other members of the extended family have vanished. —Jeffrey Gettleman Tamir Kalifa, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2023

The movie also depicts Hernández’s youth spent harvesting lettuce, strawberries and grapes across California with his immediate and extended family. —Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 15 Sep. 2023

For Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Muslim chaplain Jaye Star, her extended family was planning a wedding in Turkey in May. —Jen Gubitz, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2023

See More

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1935, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

extended family

noun

: a family that includes parents and children and other relatives (as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in the same household

Medical Definition

extended family

noun

: a family that includes in one household near relatives in addition to a nuclear family