clan

noun

ˈklan 

1

a

: a Celtic group especially in the Scottish Highlands comprising a number of households whose heads claim descent from a common ancestor

the MacDonald clan

b

: a group of people tracing descent from a common ancestor : family

The whole clan gets together for the holidays.

2

: a group united by a common interest or common characteristics

the country club clan

Synonyms of clan

• clique
• community
• crowd
• network
• circle
• pack
• bunch
• gang
• coven
• tribe
• organization

Examples of clan in a Sentence

The tribe is divided into clans.

The whole clan gets together for the holidays.

Recent Examples on the Web

Which means that Sula Mae Peace means Peace Peace, which is a kind of wonderful ironic doubling because this is not a peaceful clan of people. —Literary Hub, 28 May 2026

Messina Denaro, the head of Sicily's Castelvetrano clan, who had six life sentences to his name, died in prison a few months after his arrest at age 61. —CBS News, 28 May 2026

In Scotland, football rivalries can be as fierce as clan wars once were. —Laura Dannen Redman, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 May 2026

Perhaps predictably, the cast’s strongest chemistry has little to do with the nuclear Wilcox clan. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 27 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Scottish Gaelic clann offspring, clan, from Old Irish cland plant, offspring, from Latin planta plant

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing clan

• inter-clan
• sub-clan

Rhymes for clan

• an
• ban
• bran
• can
• cann
• duan
• fan
• flan
• gran
• jann
• klan
• lan

Kids Definition

clan

noun

ˈklan 

1

a

: a group (as in the Scottish Highlands) made up of households whose heads claim to have a common ancestor

b

: a group of people having a common ancestor : family

2

: a group of persons united by a common interest

the whole clan of actors