large household; large family
Refers to a household with many family members living together, often implying a busy, crowded domestic situation.
She is busy every day as the homemaker of a large household.
With a large family, just the food expenses are tough.
large group; big organization
Used for any sizable group of people, such as a company department, a sports team, or a project team, emphasizing the number of members.
The new department is a large group, with over 50 people.
Managing a large team is tough.
Rare, somewhat old-fashioned use referring to substantial financial assets or a fortune. Modern Japanese more often uses 巨額の富 or 大きな財産.
He is said to have built a great fortune in one generation.
大家族 emphasizes many family members or generations living together, while 大所帯 more broadly means a large household or group (not necessarily blood relatives).
Standard kanji spelling; widely used in news and everyday writing.
Rarely used kanji form.
Compound of 大 (large) + 所帯 (household). 所帯 itself originally referred to a household or family unit. The spelling 大世帯 uses 世 (world/generation) as a variant, but 大所帯 is the established form.