family

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English Vietnamese dictionary

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Advanced English dictionary

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noun, adjective
+ noun
(plural families)
1 [C+sing./pl. v.] a group consisting of one or two parents and their children: the other members of my family + Almost every family in the country owns a television. + All my family enjoy skiing. + one-parent / single-parent families + a family of four + families with young children + He's a friend of the family (= he is known and liked by the parents and the children).
See also - NUCLEAR FAMILY
2 [C+sing./pl. v., U] a group consisting of one or two parents, their children and close relations: All our family came to Grandad's eightieth birthday party. + The support of family and friends is vital. + We've only told the immediate family (= the closest relations). + the Royal Family (= the children and close relations of the king or queen) + I always think of you as one of the family. + (informal) She's family (= she is a relation).
See also - EXTENDED FAMILY
3 [C+sing./pl. v.] all the people who are related to each other, including those who are now dead: Some families have farmed in this area for hundreds of years. + This painting has been in our family for generations.
4 [C+sing./pl. v., U] a couple's or a person's children, especially young children: They have a large family. + I addressed it to Mr and Mrs Jones and family. + Do they plan to start a family (= have children)? + to bring up / raise a family
5 [C] a group of related animals and plants; a group of related things, especially languages: Lions belong to the cat family. + the Germanic family of languages
Idioms: (be / get) in the family way (old-fashioned, informal) (to be/become) pregnant
run in the family to be a common feature in a particular family: Heart disease runs in the family.
+ adjective [only before noun]
1 connected with the family or a particular family: family life + your family background + family ties / connections + It's a family tradition.
2 owned by a family: a family business + the family car
3 suitable for all members of a family, both adults and children: a family show + family entertainment

Thesaurus dictionary

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n.

1 (kith and) kin, kinsmen, kindred, kinsfolk or US and Canadian kinfolk, next of kin, relatives, relations, household, people, one's own flesh and blood, one's nearest and dearest, ménage, Colloq folks:

We usually spend the holidays with my family.

2 children, offspring, progeny, issue, brood, Colloq kids:

Large families were much more common in the 19th century.

3 ancestors, forebears, forefathers, progenitors; ancestry, parentage, descent, extraction, derivation, lineage, pedigree, genealogy, family tree, house, line, bloodline, dynasty; blood, stock, strain:

He came from an old family of German bankers.

4 group, set, division, subdivision, classification, type, kind, class, genre, order, species, genus:

English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages.

Collocation dictionary

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¹ group of people related to each other

ADJ.

large | old, old-established | land-owning, wealthy, well-to-do | hard-up, low-income, poor

tax incentives for low-income families

| homeless | close, close-knit

We are a very close-knit family and support each other through any crises.

| immediate

We've only told the immediate family (= the closest relations).

| conjugal, nuclear

the nuclear family of parents and children

| extended

maintaining contact with members of his extended family

| lone-parent, one-parent, single-parent

the difficulties faced by one-parent families

| two-parent | adoptive

helping emotionally damaged children to find placements with adoptive families

| patriarchal | middle-class, working-class, etc. | royal | bereaved

a counselling agency to help bereaved families

VERB + FAMILY

belong to, be one/part of, come from

He belonged to an old-established family. We all knew her so well that we felt she was almost part of the family. Many of our students come from poor families.

| marry into

She married into a wealthy family.

| run in

a medical condition which runs in the family

| be in

This painting has been in our family for generations.

FAMILY + NOUN

background, history

Do you know anything about her family background? a family history of heart disease

| connections, relationships, ties

They prefer to stay in their home country because of family ties.

| member | life | business | home | commitments

The job wouldn't really fit in with my family commitments.

| income | doctor | holiday | feud | heirloom | motto | name

(= surname)

| planning

(= controlling the number of children you have by using contraception)

PREP.

in a/the ~

These problems occur in all families.

| within a/the ~

creating conflict within the family

PHRASES

family and friends

The support of family and friends is vital.

| a member of a family

² children

ADJ.

large, small | young

parents with young families

VERB + FAMILY

have

I always wanted to have a large family.

| start

They got married last year and plan to start a family (= have children)soon.

| bring up, raise

struggling to bring up a family on a low income

| feed, support

It is difficult for them to earn enough to feed their families.

FAMILY + NOUN

size

Average family size has decreased since the Victorian era.

| man

a good family man, completely devoted to his wife and kids

Concise English dictionary

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families'fæməlɪ
noun
+a social unit living together
+primary social group; parents and children
+people descended from a common ancestor
+a collection of things sharing a common attribute
+an association of people who share common beliefs or activities
+(biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera
+a person having kinship with another or others
+a loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities