Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

in-group

American  
[in-groop] / ˈɪnˌgrup /
Or ingroup

noun

Sociology.

  1. a group of people sharing similar interests and attitudes, producing feelings of solidarity, community, and exclusivity.

in-group British  

noun

  1. sociol a highly cohesive and relatively closed social group characterized by the preferential treatment reserved for its members and the strength of loyalty between them Compare out-group

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of in-group

First recorded in 1905–10; in- 1 + group

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.

I wasn’t in the in-group, you know, the most popular kids.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

This suggests that rivalry strengthens in-group bonds and reinforces social identity.

From Science Daily • Nov. 11, 2025

So if you decide to exclude someone from a paradigm, you have to change the rules and you have to define who is in the in-group and who is in the out-group.

From Slate • Mar. 3, 2025

In that worldview, children are expected to "conform to in-group norms, be obedient, be orderly, be disciplined."

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2024

Government, law, order, peace, and institutions were developed in the in-group.

From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.