Definition of "in-group" [in•-group]

• A group of people united by common beliefs, attitudes, or interests and characteristically excluding outsiders; a clique. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This phenomenon, called in-group favoritism, doesn't so much reflect bias against women as it does bias in favor of men."
• "It comes as no surprise that mainline Protestants do not have a stronger sense of in-group attachment, given that “mainline Protestantism” is a blurry social category."
• "• Ethnic minorities have a stronger preference for in-group marriage, in part because they have more religiously homogeneous social networks, but also because ethnic identification itself discourages religious intermarriage."