family

[ fam-uh-lee, fam-lee ]

/ ˈfæm ə li, ˈfæm li /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR family ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural fam·i·lies.

a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family.
a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for: a single-parent family.

the children of one person or one couple collectively: We want a large family.

the spouse and children of one person: We're taking the family on vacation next week.

any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins: to marry into a socially prominent family.

all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor.

Chiefly British. approved lineage, especially noble, titled, famous, or wealthy ancestry: young men of family.

a group of persons who form a household under one head, including parents, children, and servants.

the staff, or body of assistants, of an official: the office family.

a group of related things or people: the family of romantic poets; the halogen family of elements.

a group of people who are generally not blood relations but who share common attitudes, interests, or goals and, frequently, live together: Many hippie communes of the sixties regarded themselves as families.

a group of products or product models made by the same manufacturer or producer.

Biology. the usual major subdivision of an order or suborder in the classification of plants, animals, fungi, etc., usually consisting of several genera.

Slang. a unit of the Mafia or Cosa Nostra operating in one area under a local leader.

Linguistics. the largest category into which languages related by common origin can be classified with certainty: Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Austronesian are the most widely spoken families of languages. Compare stock(def 12), subfamily(def 2).

Mathematics.

a given class of solutions of the same basic equation, differing from one another only by the different values assigned to the constants in the equation.
a class of functions or the like defined by an expression containing a parameter.
a set.

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of a family: a family trait.

belonging to or used by a family: a family automobile; a family room.

suitable or appropriate for adults and children: a family amusement park.

not containing obscene language: a family newspaper.

Idioms for family

in a/the family way, pregnant.

Origin of family

1350–1400; Middle English familie < Latin familia a household, the slaves of a household, equivalent to famul(us) servant, slave + -ia -y³

usage note for family

See collective noun.

OTHER WORDS FROM family

an·ti·fam·i·ly, adjective in·ter·fam·i·ly, adjective

Words nearby family

familiarity breeds contempt, familiarize, familism, familist, famille, family, family allowance, family and medical leave act of 1993, family balancing, family bible, family circle

Example sentences from the Web for family

Everywhere I go, ‘Hey Cartman, you must like Family Guy, right?’

Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie |Arthur Chu |January 9, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Saved from the public gallows, Weeks was virtually exiled from the city, and wound up in Mississippi, where he raised a family.

New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion |Nina Strochlic |January 8, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
A spokesman for Lewisham council said last year that it would be forced to act if the family returned to Britain.

Britain May Spy on Preschoolers Searching for Potential Jihadis |Nico Hines |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.

I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 |Vicky Ward |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

Ney said McDonnell needs to “keep a stiff lip” and stay in close contact with family members.

Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv |Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich |January 7, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
She represented, not the institution of the family, but the institution of the Church.

Woman in Modern Society |Earl Barnes
Strangers who come at this time of day at once enter the family circle.

Historic Highways of America (Vol. 12) |Archer Butler Hulbert
The simple fact was, that Pope's grandfather, the highest they could trace the family, was a clergyman in Hampshire.

Homes and Haunts of the Most Eminent British Poets, Vol. I (of 2) |William Howitt
Kittens are not hereditary in the family of fowls, and she knew it.

Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 9, May 28, 1870 |Various
All the other children in the family of unusually superior intelligence.

The Measurement of Intelligence |Lewis Madison Terman

British Dictionary definitions for family

family

/ (ˈfæmɪlɪ, ˈfæmlɪ) /

noun plural -lies

a primary social group consisting of parents and their offspring, the principal function of which is provision for its members
(as modifier)family quarrels; a family unit

one's wife or husband and one's children

one's children, as distinguished from one's husband or wife

a group of persons related by blood; a group descended from a common ancestor Compare extended family

all the persons living together in one household

any group of related things or beings, esp when scientifically categorized

biology any of the taxonomic groups into which an order is divided and which contains one or more genera. Felidae (cat family) and Canidae (dog family) are two families of the order Carnivora

ecology a group of organisms of the same species living together in a community

a group of historically related languages assumed to derive from one original language

mainly US an independent local group of the Mafia

maths a group of curves or surfaces whose equations differ from a given equation only in the values assigned to one or more constants in each curve a family of concentric circles

physics the isotopes, collectively, that comprise a radioactive series

in the family way informal pregnant

Word Origin for family

C15: from Latin familia a household, servants of the house, from famulus servant

Medical definitions for family

family

[ făm′ə-lē, făm′lē ]

n.

A group of blood relatives, especially parents and their children.

A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order and above a genus.

Scientific definitions for family

family

[ făm′ə-lē ]

A group of organisms ranking above a genus and below an order. The names of families end in -ae, a plural ending in Latin. In the animal kingdom, family names end in -idae, as in Canidae (dogs and their kin), while those in the plant kingdom usually end in -aceae, as in Rosaceae (roses and their kin). See Table at taxonomy.

Cultural definitions for family

family

In biology, the classification lower than an order and higher than a genus. Lions, tigers, cheetahs, and house cats belong to the same biological family. Human beings belong to the biological family of hominids. (See Linnean classification.)

Idioms and Phrases with family

family

see in a family way; run in the blood (family).

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

family

noun, plural fam·i·lies.

adjective

Idioms for family

Origin of family

usage note for family

OTHER WORDS FROM family

Words nearby family

Example sentences from the Web for family

British Dictionary definitions for family

noun plural -lies

Word Origin for family

Medical definitions for family

n.

Scientific definitions for family

Cultural definitions for family

Idioms and Phrases with family

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

family

noun, plural fam·i·lies.

adjective

Idioms for family

Origin of family

usage note for family

OTHER WORDS FROM family

Words nearby family

Words related to family

Example sentences from the Web for family

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for family

noun plural -lies

Word Origin for family

Medical definitions for family

n.

Scientific definitions for family

Cultural definitions for family

Idioms and Phrases with family

British Dictionary definitions for family