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
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
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
William Nack Examples of extended family in a Sentence
their extended family includes a grandmother and widowed aunt
Recent Examples on the Web
The single-season series centered around her father and his relationships with Whitney, Bobbi Kristina and his extended family over the course of six months.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 1 Feb. 2026
The children now see Morales, her husband and their three daughters as their extended family.
—Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2026
Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
Thus, the narrative voice comes to resemble the attic: at once enclosed and porous, claustrophobic yet expansive, shuttling between perspectives and tunneling among the makeshift rooms where Camilla and her extended family muddle through the long and difficult season.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extended family
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Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 1 Feb. 2026
The children now see Morales, her husband and their three daughters as their extended family.
—Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2026
Tim is, quite simply, the beating heart of our wild and wonderful extended family.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 22 Jan. 2026
Thus, the narrative voice comes to resemble the attic: at once enclosed and porous, claustrophobic yet expansive, shuttling between perspectives and tunneling among the makeshift rooms where Camilla and her extended family muddle through the long and difficult season.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for extended family
Cite this Entry
“Extended family.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extended%20family. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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