in-group

or in·group

[ in-groop ]

noun

, Sociology.

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

in-group

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of in-group¹

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

Example Sentences

First, there's the fear of difference and the paranoid belief that those who are deemed "different" are plotting against the in-group.

From Salon

A dog whistle secretly communicates one targeted idea to an in-group while also offering an innocuous separate message to people outside of that group.

From Salon

A dog whistle secretly communicates one targeted idea to an in-group while also offering an innocuous separate message to people outside of that group.

From Salon

Our "foodways" – our cultural and social practices regarding the creation and consumption of food – are where community, connection and in-group/out-group dynamics are formed.

From Salon

In a review published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, the authors wrote that social media feeds are oversaturated with “prestigious, in-group, moral and emotional information,” or information that users are strongly biased to learn from.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• camp
• class
• clique
• club
• company
• crowd
• fraternity
• party
• ring
• school
• society