kinfolk

plural noun

kin·​folk ˈkin-ˌfōk How to pronounce kinfolk (audio)
variants or kinfolks
Synonyms of kinfolknext
: relatives

Synonyms of kinfolk

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of kinfolk in a Sentence

let's invite all our kinfolk for the holidays
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The father had a massively fresh gash, from his right wrist, up across his whole hand, from banging and breaking iron and glass, to save his kinfolk. — Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025 Stars may be in town to perform, attend premieres and mingle with industry kinfolk, but who can blame them for breaking into the real world for a bit of queso and conversation? — Julianna Duennes Russ, Austin American Statesman, 11 Mar. 2026 At the time, Mao Zedong let Inner Mongolians keep the script, in part to distinguish them from kinfolk across the border. — Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 10 Dec. 2023 Long, frozen winters and fleeting, lazy summers in this remote area of the country helped forge tightknit bonds — over bonfires, while fishing or snowshoeing, or in musical jam circles — between kinfolk and friends. — Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2023 See All Example Sentences for kinfolk

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kinfolk was in 1873

Rhymes for kinfolk

See All Rhymes for kinfolk

Browse Nearby Words

kinetosome
kinfolk
king
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Kinfolk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kinfolk. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All