- [countable + singular or plural verb] a group consisting of one or two parents and their children
- I introduced Neil to the other members of my family.
- The event promises games and fun for the entire family.
- This is a summer movie for the whole family.
- Every family has its own story to tell.
- All my family enjoy skiing.
- one-parent/single-parent families
- a family of four/five, etc Taking a family of four to the cinema is expensive.
- families with young children
- He's a friend of the family (= he is known and liked by the parents and the children).
- From early childhood he was a mystery to the rest of his family.
- He barely earns enough money to pay his rent and feed his family.
- She works tirelessly to provide for her family.
Extra ExamplesTopics Family and relationshipsa1, Life stagesa1- They help children to find placements with adoptive families.
- It is difficult for them to earn enough to feed their families.
- issues which create conflict within the family
- tax incentives for low-income families
- Many of our students come from poor families.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- large
- entire
- …
- belong to
- be one of
- be part of
- …
- background
- history
- tradition
- …
- in a/the family
- within a/the family
- family and friends
- a member of a family
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- [countable + singular or plural verb, uncountable] 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.
- in a family There are a lot of girls in our family.
- outside a family Nobody outside his family knew that he had a daughter.
- We all knew her so well that we felt she was almost part of the family.
- (informal) She's family (= she is a relation).
- We have family in France.
Extra ExamplesTopics Family and relationshipsa1- We are a very close-knit family and support each other through any crises.
- a helpline set up to counsel bereaved families
- a counselling agency to help bereaved families
- These problems occur in all families.
- She grew up in a military family.
- She married into a wealthy family.
- The movie is a portrait of a dysfunctional family.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- large
- entire
- …
- belong to
- be one of
- be part of
- …
- background
- history
- tradition
- …
- in a/the family
- within a/the family
- family and friends
- a member of a family
- [countable + singular or plural verb] 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.
- He belonged to an aristocratic family.
- She is of Muslim heritage on her father's side of the family.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- large
- entire
- …
- belong to
- be one of
- be part of
- …
- background
- history
- tradition
- …
- in a/the family
- within a/the family
- family and friends
- a member of a family
- [countable + singular or plural verb, uncountable] 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)?
- This is a wonderful place to raise a family.
- She brought up a family of six children on her own.
- She chose to stop work to have a family.
Collocations ChildrenChildrenHaving a baby/child- want a baby/a child/kids
- start a family
- conceive/be expecting/be going to have a baby/child
- miss your period
- become/get/be/find out that you are pregnant
- have a baby/a child/kids/a son/a daughter/twins/a family
- have a normal/a difficult/an unwanted pregnancy; an easy/a difficult/a home birth
- be in/go into/induce labour (especially US English) labor
- have/suffer/cause a miscarriage
- give birth to a child/baby/daughter/son/twins
- bring up/ (especially North American English) raise a child/family
- care for/ (especially British English) look after a baby/child/kid
- change (British English) a nappy/(North American English) a diaper/a baby
- feed/breastfeed/bottle-feed a baby
- be entitled to/go on maternity/paternity leave
- go back/return to work after maternity leave
- need/find/get a babysitter/good quality affordable childcare
- balance/combine work and childcare/child-rearing/family life
- educate/teach/home-school a child/kid
- punish/discipline/spoil a child/kid
- adopt a baby/child/kid
- offer a baby for/put a baby up for adoption
- (especially British English) foster a child/kid
- be placed with/be raised by foster parents
Extra Examples- They got married last year and plan to start a family soon.
- Average family size has decreased since the Victorian era.
- parents with young families
- I always wanted to have a large family.
- It's a struggle to bring up a family on a low income.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- large
- small
- young
- …
- have
- start
- bring up
- …
- size
- man
- [countable] a group into which animals, plants, etc. that have similar characteristics are divided, smaller than an order and larger than a genus
- Lions belong to the cat family.
- This bird is a member of the crow family.
- family of something Orchids are the largest family of flowering plants.
- a group of related languages
- the Germanic family of languages
Word Originlate Middle English (in sense (3); also denoting the servants of a household or the retinue of a nobleman): from Latin familia ‘household servants, family’, from famulus ‘servant’.
Idioms
See family in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee family in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English(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.
- a medical condition which runs in the family
Check pronunciation:
family