Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: BIOLOGY

Date: 1400-1500
Origin: familia 'people living in a house', from famulus 'servant'

family

 noun
     
family
fam‧i‧ly S1 W1 plural families
1

closely related group

[countable] a group of people who are related to each other, especially a mother, a father, and their childrenCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
the whole family/all the family member of a family/family member a family of three/four/five etc a 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 family the Royal Family (=the King or Queen and their family) family home/car/holiday etc a family film/show etc (=that is suitable for children as well as adults) family life family 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
Do you know the family next door?
The Webb family still has its farm over there.
[also + plural verb] British English
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 family
children living in a one-parent family
The Royal Family must now rethink its attitude to marriage.
the break-up of the family unit
2

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 somebody'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).
3

children

[countable]SSC 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 income
4DH

family size/pack etc

a container or package containing a large amount of a product
5

group of animals/things

[countable] technical a 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.
6

she's/he's family

informal used to emphasize your connection with someone who is related to you
7

in the family way

old-fashioned pregnant
Definition of family from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic BIOLOGY
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