extended family

[ik-sten-did fam-uh-lee, fam lee] / ɪkˈstɛn dɪd ˈfæm ə li, ˈfæm li /

NOUN

parents, children, and relatives

Synonyms

STRONGEST

nuclear family

WEAK

binuclear family kinship group menage ménage relations

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.

At the time, Fatone was married to Kelly Baldwin, with whom he shares two children—and the two had invited several members of his extended family over for a celebration.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026

The court heard how she and her extended family spent five days over Christmas 2011 at a house in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, because her ex-husband required hospital treatment and could not fly back to Nigeria.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

They opened their home, for months at a time and sometimes longer, Polk said, creating a vast extended family that has kept close ties.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

We’d often visit our family farm, where my extended family raised pigs, ducks, chickens and whatnot.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

I’m the oldest kid in our whole extended family, so I generally run around keeping the little ones from killing each other, but that day they all got along.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick