noun | adjective
familyfamily1 /ˈfæmli, -məli/ ●●● S1 W1 noun (plural families) 1
CLOSELY RELATED GROUP [uncountable] a group of people who are related to each other and usually live together, especially two parents and their children: Do you know the family next door? This is a picture of the Webb family. The house is big enough for a family of five. We’ve never been a very close family (=one that likes spending time together). It is often easier to talk to someone outside your immediate family (=your parents, sisters, brothers, husband, and wife). → see also extended family, nuclear familyTHESAURUSrelative – a member of someone’s family, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins: She invited all her relatives to the wedding.relation – relation means the same as relative, but relation sounds a little more formal: Some of their relations flew all the way from Alaska for the wedding.descendant – someone who belongs to the same family as a person who lived a long time ago: He is the descendant of a Native American chief.ancestor – a member of someone’s family who lived a long time ago: Her ancestors originally came from Ireland.next of kin – the closest living member of your family, who you want to be told if you are injured, killed, etc.: The form asks for your next of kin, in case of an accident.2ALL YOUR RELATIVES [countable, uncountable] all the people you are related to, including those who are now dead: She’s visiting family in Vancouver. The house has been in my family for over 200 years. Heart disease runs in our family (=is common in our family). The home will care for your family member if they become too sick to live at home. The Vasquezes are old family friends. Terry wants to work in the family business (=a small business owned by one family). I don’t want to ask him to pay because he is family (=used to emphasize someone’s relationship to you). The report deals with the suspect’s family background (=information about the kind of family someone comes from). Uncle Jack’s not really related to us, but he’s like one of the family (=treated like someone in the family).3somebody’S CHILDREN [countable] someone’s children: A young couple and their family live next door. Steve and Linda want to start a family next year (=have children). When you first have children, you don’t know anything about the problems of raising a family (=caring for and educating children). We’re looking for a family restaurant that serves good food (=one that is appropriate for children as well as adults).4GROUP OF ANIMALS/PLANTS [countable] science, biology one of the groups into which scientists divide animals and plants. A family is larger than a genus, but smaller than an order: Tigers and other cats are members of the family Felidae.5GROUP OF LANGUAGES [countable] eng. lang. arts a group of languages that have a lot of similarities because they share the same origins: Spanish and Italian are part of the Romance language family.6be in the family way old-fashioned to be pregnant[Origin: 1400–1500 familia people living in a house, from Latin famulus servant]USAGE: familyDon’t say: My family is five, My family is five members/people, or My family is of five members/people. Say instead: There are five people in my family.COLLOCATIONS– Meanings 1 & 2adjectivesthe whole family We invited the whole family to Christmas dinner.all the family This is a game that all the family can enjoy.somebody’s immediate family (=people who are most closely related to you) What if one of your immediate family were disabled?somebody’s extended family (=including parents, children, grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc.) She gets a lot of help from her extended family.a large/small family She came from a large family of seven children.a single-parent/one-parent family (=a family with children but only one parent) One in seven families is a single-parent family.a nuclear family (=a family consisting of a mother, a father, and their children) Not everyone lives in a typical nuclear family.a close/close-knit family (=spending a lot of time together and supporting each other) Laura’s family is very close.family + nounsa family member (also a member of the family) The event was attended by many of his family members, including his children and grandchildren.family life Some people believe that television is destroying family life.somebody’s family background (=information about the kind of family someone comes from) He comes from a stable family background.family history (=events or illnesses that have happened in someone’s family) Is there a family history of heart disease?a family unit formal (=a family consisting of one or two parents and children, used in scientific writing) The book is about the breakup of the traditional family unit.somebody’s family home (=where someone’s family live and where they lived as a child) Her family home is in a village outside Derry.a family business (=one run by members of a family) My parents expected me to join the family business.a family car (=one for families with children) It’s a practical family car that is also fun to drive.a family vacation Most of our family vacations were spent in Texas and Arizona.a family resemblance (=when members of the same family look like each other) There’s a strong family resemblance between all the sisters. noun | adjective
familyfamily2 adjective [only before noun] used about products or containers that contain enough of the product for a large family to use: a family pack/size etc. I buy the family packs of chicken breasts.