extended family

/ɛkˈstɛndɪd ˈfæmli/

/ɛksˈtɛndɪd ˈfæmɪli/

Other forms: extended families

Your extended family is everyone who's related to you besides your parents, siblings, or children. Aunts, great-grandparents, nephews, second cousins: these are all part of your extended family.

Extended family, coined in 1942, was originally a term used by sociologists. Rather than just a generic way to talk about family members outside of parents and children, its earliest use was for multi-generational households. If your grandmother and uncle live with you, together you're an extended family. If you're not a sociologist, you’re more likely to describe the group composed of your great-aunt, your cousin, and your sister-in-law as your extended family.

Definitions of extended family

1. noun

   a family consisting of the nuclear family and their blood relatives
   type of:

   family, home, house, household, menage

   a social unit living together