extended family

American  

[ik-sten-did fam-uh-lee, fam lee] / ɪkˈstɛn dɪd ˈfæm ə li, ˈfæm li /

noun

1. a kinship group consisting of a family nucleus and various relatives, as grandparents, usually living in one household and functioning as a larger unit.

2. (loosely) one's family conceived of as including aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and sometimes close friends and colleagues.

---

extended family British  

noun

1. sociol anthropol a social unit that contains the nuclear family together with blood relatives, often spanning three or more generations

---

extended family Cultural  

1. A type of family in which relatives in addition to parents and children (such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins) live in a single household. A nuclear family forms the core of an extended family.

---

Etymology

Origin of extended family

First recorded in 1940–45

Compare meaning

How does extended-family compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• nuclear family vs. extended family

Example Sentences

Roughly four decades ago, members of the extended family made a journey in the opposite direction.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

Living in a “compound household” with extended family felt “oppressive” to him, and he felt more at home in New York City, his son recounts.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

At the time, Fatone was married to Kelly Baldwin, with whom he shares two children—and the two had invited several members of his extended family over for a celebration.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

“The pain is unimaginable,” Jessica Hales, who identified herself as a member of Hales’ extended family, wrote in a social media post.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

He had agreed to fly with her and her parents to Calcutta, to meet her extended family and ask for her grandparents’ blessing.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• nuclear family