family
♦♦♦ fami|ly /f'æmɪli/ (families)
1 [N-COUNT-COLL]
A family is a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children.
There's room in there for a family of five...
His family are completely behind him, whatever he decides...
To him the family is the core of society...
Does he have any family?
2 [N-COUNT-COLL]
When people talk about a family, they sometimes mean children.
They decided to start a family.
...couples with large families.
3 [N-COUNT-COLL]
When people talk about their family, they sometimes mean their ancestors.
Her family came to Los Angeles at the turn of the century.
...the history of mental illness in the family.
4 [ADJ] ADJ n
You can use family to describe things that belong to a particular family.
He returned to the family home...
I was working in the family business.
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
You can use family to describe things that are designed to be used or enjoyed by both parents and children.
It had been designed as a family house...
A wedding is a family event.
6 [N-COUNT] with supp
A family of animals or plants is a group of related species.
...foods in the cabbage family, such as Brussels sprouts.ex|tend|ed fami|ly (extended families)
[N-COUNT]
An extended family is a family group which includes relatives such as uncles, aunts, and grandparents, as well as parents, children, and brothers and sisters.
The pregnant woman in such a community has the support of all the womenfolk in her extended family.fami|ly doc|tor (family doctors)
[N-COUNT] oft poss N
A family doctor is a doctor who does not specialize in any particular area of medicine, but who has a medical practice in which he or she treats all types of illness. (BRIT)
= GPfami|ly man (family men)
1 [N-COUNT]
A family man is a man who is very fond of his wife and children and likes to spend a lot of time with them.
I'm very much a family man and need to be close to those I love.
2 [N-COUNT]
A family man is a man who has a wife and children.
I am a family man with a mortgage.fami|ly name (family names)
[N-COUNT]
Your family name is your surname.fami|ly plan|ning
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Family planning is the practice of using contraception to control the number of children you have.
...a family planning clinic.fami|ly tree (family trees)
[N-COUNT]
A family tree is a chart that shows all the people in a family over many generations and their relationship to one another.nu|clear fami|ly (nuclear families)
[N-COUNT]
A nuclear family is a family unit that consists of father, mother, and children.one-parent fami|ly (one-parent families)
[N-COUNT]
A one-parent family is a family that consists of one parent and his or her children living together.
Many children are now born into or raised in one-parent families.roy|al fami|ly (royal families)
[N-COUNT]
The royal family of a country is the king, queen, or emperor, and all the members of their family.
1 [N-COUNT-COLL]
A family is a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children.
There's room in there for a family of five...
His family are completely behind him, whatever he decides...
To him the family is the core of society...
Does he have any family?
2 [N-COUNT-COLL]
When people talk about a family, they sometimes mean children.
They decided to start a family.
...couples with large families.
3 [N-COUNT-COLL]
When people talk about their family, they sometimes mean their ancestors.
Her family came to Los Angeles at the turn of the century.
...the history of mental illness in the family.
4 [ADJ] ADJ n
You can use family to describe things that belong to a particular family.
He returned to the family home...
I was working in the family business.
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
You can use family to describe things that are designed to be used or enjoyed by both parents and children.
It had been designed as a family house...
A wedding is a family event.
6 [N-COUNT] with supp
A family of animals or plants is a group of related species.
...foods in the cabbage family, such as Brussels sprouts.ex|tend|ed fami|ly (extended families)
[N-COUNT]
An extended family is a family group which includes relatives such as uncles, aunts, and grandparents, as well as parents, children, and brothers and sisters.
The pregnant woman in such a community has the support of all the womenfolk in her extended family.fami|ly doc|tor (family doctors)
[N-COUNT] oft poss N
A family doctor is a doctor who does not specialize in any particular area of medicine, but who has a medical practice in which he or she treats all types of illness. (BRIT)
= GPfami|ly man (family men)
1 [N-COUNT]
A family man is a man who is very fond of his wife and children and likes to spend a lot of time with them.
I'm very much a family man and need to be close to those I love.
2 [N-COUNT]
A family man is a man who has a wife and children.
I am a family man with a mortgage.fami|ly name (family names)
[N-COUNT]
Your family name is your surname.fami|ly plan|ning
[N-UNCOUNT] oft N n
Family planning is the practice of using contraception to control the number of children you have.
...a family planning clinic.fami|ly tree (family trees)
[N-COUNT]
A family tree is a chart that shows all the people in a family over many generations and their relationship to one another.nu|clear fami|ly (nuclear families)
[N-COUNT]
A nuclear family is a family unit that consists of father, mother, and children.one-parent fami|ly (one-parent families)
[N-COUNT]
A one-parent family is a family that consists of one parent and his or her children living together.
Many children are now born into or raised in one-parent families.roy|al fami|ly (royal families)
[N-COUNT]
The royal family of a country is the king, queen, or emperor, and all the members of their family.