kin

noun

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\ ˈkin

Definition of kin

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a group of persons of common ancestry : clan

2a : one's relatives : kindred our neighbors and their kin close kin

b : kinsman he wasn't any kin to you— Jean Stafford

3 archaic : kinship

kin

adjective

Definition of kin (Entry 2 of 3)

: kindred, related

-kin

noun suffix

\ kən \

variants: or less commonly -kins \ kənz \

Definition of -kin (Entry 3 of 3)

: little catkin babykins

Synonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing kin Learn More About kin

Examples of kin in a Sentence

Noun They are her distant kin. invited all of his kith and kin to his graduation party

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Marion County Coroner’s Office will release the decedent's name once next-of-kin have been notified. — Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Apr. 2022 Not far from that site, another set of footprints reveals that Lucy and her kin may have lived alongside another bipedal hominin species, one that moved very differently. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 6 Dec. 2021 The name of the soldier was being withheld pending next-of-kin notification. — CBS News, 11 May 2022 The soldier's name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification. — ABC News, 11 May 2022 No wonder, then, that Taffe was concerned about the Yellowstone Act provoking the Lakota, along with their kin and allies. — Megan Kate Nelson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2022 And their responses have varied, from denying that a war with their Russian kin is even possible, to planning for the worst – like scouting out routes to bomb shelters. — Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Jan. 2022 While the prominent Crowninshields didn’t want to be associated with their criminal kin, Stephen White’s interest was in concealing his family fortune’s roots in slavery. — Barbara Spindel, WSJ, 8 Dec. 2021 People have thought about natal alienation a lot, which is that enslaved people don’t have any legitimate relationship with their own kin, with their ancestors or their progeny, that’s essentially cut off by enslavement. — BostonGlobe.com, 10 May 2021 See More

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

History and Etymology for kin

Noun

Middle English, from Old English cynn; akin to Old High German chunni race, Latin genus birth, race, kind, Greek genos, Latin gignere to beget, Greek gignesthai to be born

Adjective

attributive use of kin entry 1

Noun suffix

Middle English, from Middle Dutch -kin; akin to Old High German -chīn, diminutive suffix