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Sociology vocabulary · Family, Gender and the Life Course

Extended family

Meaning in sociology, with examples

nounCore term

In sociology, extended family means: A family that includes relatives beyond parents and children, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins, who live together or keep close daily contact.

In Turkish: geniş aile

How it is used

Often contrasted with the nuclear family. Sociologists distinguish vertical extension (three generations under one roof) from horizontal extension (siblings and their families). A modified extended family keeps strong ties without sharing one home.

Example sentences

  1. Grandparents in the extended family often look after the children while both parents work.

  2. Migration to the cities weakened the extended family as a household, but family ties remained strong.

Common collocations

  • extended family network
  • modified extended family
  • three-generation household
  • live with the extended family
  • nuclear familyA family made up of two parents and their dependent children living together in one household.
  • kinshipThe network of relationships between people based on descent, marriage or adoption, together with the rules and obligations that come with them.
  • familyA group of people related by blood, marriage, partnership or adoption who usually share a home, resources and responsibility for raising children.
  • life courseThe sequence of stages and transitions people go through over a lifetime, such as education, work, partnership, parenthood and retirement, seen as shaped by society and history.

More terms: Family, Gender and the Life Course

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