extended family
Americannoun
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extended families
plural
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a kinship group consisting of a family nucleus and various relatives, as grandparents, usually living in one household and functioning as a larger unit.
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(loosely) one's family conceived of as including aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and sometimes close friends and colleagues.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of extended family
First recorded in 1940–45
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Three children, a close extended family and lots of friends.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Few if any of them will ever before have seen money like that in their extended family.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
Behind the scenes, the FBI saw in emails and company records, Kao orchestrated over $40,000 in donations from extended family in advance of the event.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Over the next few years, I began to form vague ideas about the other members of our extended family.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
The plan was that he would eventually bring as many members of his extended family as possible to the United States.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
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