clan

American  

[klan] / klæn /

noun

• clans
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• subclan
  noun
• clanless
  adjective
• interclan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clans
  plural

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

See Examples For:

clan clans

The streamer and Shondaland announced Thursday that an untitled spinoff about the early life of the future matriarch of the Bridgerton clan is in the works.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The Weston family, worth billions, is a Canadian-British food-business clan that traces its roots to a bakery business founded in Toronto in 1882.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

But the son has never been revealed to the public and nor was he recognised by the committee of 21 Babiito clan members who choose the king and eventually selected Kijanangoma.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Sarah’s parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary, and they’re taking the whole clan on a celebratory safari.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Gunters who wanted help joined a clan, and Aech and I both agreed that clans were for suck-asses and poseurs.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

But it didn’t go down well with many Sinaloan clans, enabling the Mayitos to make their own alliances.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

Palestinians in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah voted on lists of candidates that were seen as associated with various clans and political groups.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

The determination, released Wednesday, is not the final say but signals a possibility that several clans of the iconic cougars will be listed under the California Endangered Species Act.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

Only 27 percent of Sahm's actions targeted gangs or clans, he said, the rest involved civilians accused of looting or collaborating with Israeli forces.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025

“I’ve often thought the belief systems of the witch clans would reward investigation,” said Hallgrimsson, “but my own studies led me elsewhere.”

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

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