family

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Formal

n. your ancestors or the history of your relatives over a long time.

n. a person's lineage or genealogical ancestry, often implying a distinguished or noble background.

“She comes from a famous family of musicians and artists.”

“He could trace his family back to the seventeenth century through a series of well-preserved parish records.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Science Technical

n. a group of related plants or animals that is larger than a 'genus' but smaller than an 'order'.

n. a taxonomic rank in the classification of organisms between order and genus.

“The lion and the tiger both belong to the cat family.”

“Botanists recently reclassified the species after genetic testing revealed it belonged to a different family entirely.”

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Academic

n. a group of languages that developed from the same original language.

n. a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral protolanguage.

Español:familia

“French, Spanish, and Italian are all part of the Romance language family.”

“The Indo-European family encompasses the majority of the languages spoken today in Europe and parts of Western Asia.”

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Informal · Slang

n. a group of very close friends who treat each other like relatives.

n. a close-knit group of people related by friendship or shared experience rather than biology.

“My teammates are like family to me after all these years.”

“In many urban environments, individuals form 'chosen families' that provide the emotional support traditionally expected from biological kin.”

A2 · Elementary

adj. something that is safe or good for both children and adults to see.

adj. denoting content or environments suitable for all ages, particularly children.

“We are looking for a family movie to watch tonight.”

“The resort prides itself on providing family entertainment that avoids the crude humor found in typical late-night shows.”