extended family

noun

: a family that includes in one household near relatives (such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in addition to a nuclear family

Given space, there are ways in which even larger populations than the extended family can be accommodated under one roof.

—Paul Oliver

also : an extensive group of people who are related by blood or marriage or who otherwise regard themselves as a large family

Four out of every five people who go through a first divorce remarry … . Thus it is that husbands and wives, their former partners, children and stepchildren, and a whole constellation of grandparents and other relatives are brought together in the new American extended family.

—Michael Norman

During his five years at Owen High, he turned his teams into an extended family and tried to instill in his players the same sense of self-worth that Baldwin had imparted to him years before.

—William Nack

Synonyms

• home
• house
• household
• ménage

Examples of extended family in a Sentence

their extended family includes a grandmother and widowed aunt

Recent Examples on the Web

The woman has since felt a lack of support from her extended family. —Ashley Vega, People.com, 23 Dec. 2024

Maria left her home country 18 years ago, leaving her then-infant son with extended family to earn a living doing farm work in the U.S. —Morgan Radford, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024

More than 146,000 schoolkids slept in shelters or in the overcrowded homes of friends and extended family, an annual count from Advocates for Children of New York shows. —Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 16 Dec. 2024

Part of Champagne’s extended family, Crémant is similar in texture and style but with flavors like oyster shell, honey, and even herbal teas. —Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 9 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1935, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

extended family

noun

: a family that includes parents and children and other relatives (as grandparents, aunts, or uncles) in the same household

Medical Definition

extended family

noun

: a family that includes in one household near relatives in addition to a nuclear family