npluralfamilies
1【closely related group】2【all your relations】3【children】4 family size/pack etc5【group of animals/things】6 she's/he's family7 in the family way
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Date: 1400-1500;
Origin: familia
'people living in a house', from famulus
'servant']
【CLOSELY RELATED GROUP】[C]a group of people who are related to each other, especially a mother, a father, and their children
Do you know the family next door? The Webb family still has its farm over there. [also + plural verb]BrE The family now live in London. The whole family had caught colds.For younger members of the family, there is an outdoor play area.This house isn't big enough for a family of seven .My family has always been close .Is there a history of heart disease in your immediate family ?He lost contact with his extended family . the traditional nuclear familychildren living in a one-parent family The Royal Family must now rethink its attitude to marriage. the break-up of the family unit【ALL YOUR RELATIONS】 [C,U also + plural verb British English] all the people you are related to, including those who are now dead
I'm moving to Detroit because I have some family there. My family come from Scotland originally.in sb's family That painting has been in our family (=been owned by our family) for 200 years. Asthma runs in the family (=is common in the family) .【CHILDREN】[C]children
Couples with young families wouldn't want to live here. They're getting married next year, and hope to start a family (=have children) straight away.bring up/raise a family the problems of bringing up a family on a very low incomefamily size/pack etca container or package containing a large amount of a product
【GROUP OF ANIMALS/THINGS】[C]technicala group of related animals, plants, languages etc
the cat/parrot/squirrel etc family The cat family includes lions and tigers. Spanish and Italian are part of the Romance language family.she's/he's familyinformalused to emphasize your connection with someone who is related to you
in the family wayold-fashionedpregnant
COLLOCATES for sense 1the whole family/all the familymember of a family/family membera family of three/four/five etca close/close-knit family (=a family whose members have a close relationship)
immediate family (=closest relations)
nuclear family (=a family consisting of a mother, a father, and their children)
family background (=the sort of family someone comes from)
one-parent family/single-parent familythe Royal Family (=the King or Queen and their family)
family home/car/holiday etca family film/show etc (=that is suitable for children as well as adults)
family lifefamily resemblance (=when members of the same family look like each other)
family gathering (=when members of a family who do not live together arrange to meet)
family unit