clan

American  

[klan] / klæn /

noun

1. a group of families or households, as among the Scottish Highlanders, the heads of which claim descent from a common ancestor.

   the Mackenzie clan.

2. a group of people of common descent; family.

   Our whole clan got together for Thanksgiving.

3. a group of people, as a clique, set, society, or party, especially as united by some common trait, characteristic, or interest.

   a clan of actors and directors.

4. Anthropology.

   1. the principal social unit of tribal organization, in which descent is reckoned exclusively in either the paternal or the maternal line.

   2. a group of people regarded as being descended from a common ancestor.

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clan British  

/ klæn /

noun

1. a group of people interrelated by ancestry or marriage

2. a group of families with a common surname and a common ancestor, acknowledging the same leader, esp among the Scots and the Irish

3. a group of people united by common characteristics, aims, or interests

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Other Word Forms

• clanless adjective
• interclan adjective
• subclan noun

Etymology

Origin of clan

1375–1425; late Middle English ( Scots ) < Scots Gaelic clann < Old Irish cland offspring < Latin planta scion, plant, perhaps directly < British Celtic; compare Welsh plant children

Explanation

A clan is an extended family. Your clan might include your parents and siblings, but also your cousins and second cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Families that are related to each other, whether through marriage or as distant cousins, are members of the same clan. If you get together with a big family group every summer, you can say you vacation with your clan. In Scotland, a person's clan has a specific name, like "clan MacLachlan." The word comes from the Gaelic clann, "family" or "offspring," with the Latin root planta, "offshoot."

Example Sentences

The two men forged a close friendship that extended to the wider Kennedy clan.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Steven Lyons is the head of the Lyons clan, which was originally based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

Main character Kliff is a member of the Greymanes, a warrior clan whose members are dispersed around the continent by the rival Black Bears.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

Across the gold-leaf ground, horsemen of the avant-garde charge into the indigo ocean, firing arrows in pursuit of the fleeing Taira clan boats.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

“We’re going to visit your clan uncle after breakfast. So, when you’re done, get dressed and then we’ll leave.”

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

Related Words

• band
• faction
• gang
• mob
• sect
• society
• tribe