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

And I grew up in a large extended family, eating kamayan feasts together with our hands.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

Ahmed al-Halabi, a father of two from the Dahieh area of south Beirut, fled with his extended family in the middle of the night as missiles struck nearby.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

In one scene, Sensei Sergio introduces Ferguson to his extended family -- and to some of the migrants he hides so they can avoid arrest.

From Barron's • Mar. 9, 2026

Oregon chiropractor Joshua Wolfram paid $950 for a cabana for his extended family of nine on the family beach.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

Most of my extended family had already left Rio, but my parents and Adria were still there.

From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles

Related Words

• nuclear family