1. A unit of people who live together, who function as a single household and who are related to one another; usually, consisting of parents and offspring: The family all lived on the farm by the river where they all worked together.
2. A body of people who are closely related by birth, marriage, or adoption: The large family included aunts, uncles and several adopted cousins.
3. All of the folk (living and dead) who are descended from a common ancestor: Shirley comes from a very famous family which included a sea captain.
4. An association whose members are related in origin, characteristics, or occupation to each other: The family of traveling repairmen who mended broken things were well-known for the high quality of their workmanship.
5. Related languages or a set of languages that have a common origin: Interestingly enough, Estonian and Hungarian belong to the same language family.
6. Something that is used, owned, or employed by a closely related party, or that which is suitable for such a group: All of Ted's children and his wife got into the family car for the trip to town.

A common group of people including children from previous and current relationships: The parents in blended families often refer to their children as "yours", "mine", and "ours".

An animal of the weasel tribe (Mustela Erminea), an inhabitant of northern countries, called in England a "stoat", whose fur is reddish brown in summer, but in winter (in northern regions) wholly white, except the tip of the tail, which is always black.

A Bible with special pages to record births, deaths, and marriages of a closely related unit of kin: The Family Bible was passed from generation to generation which revealed information for current and future members of the family about their ancestors.

A physician whose medical training is to provide comprehensive medical care for parents and their offspring: The family doctor is a general physician who has been trained to treat illnesses of all of the members of a family; including the very young and the adults.

A term for health care provided by some physicians in financially disadvantaged regions in the U.S.; such as, inner cities, in which a patient is told to bring his entire family along for a check-up or other medical evaluations on a return visit, even when there is no indication that there is an illness: Family ganging is an unethical health-care practice in which a doctor requires, or encourages, a patient to return to a publicly paid health system with other children of the family so the health program can charge for care given to all family members.

An informal social gathering of people who are related by blood or through marriage: A big family get-together was planned for the summer holidays to celebrate several birthdays.

A policy that permits workers to have a certain amount of paid time off from their jobs so they can take care of someone with whom they are living: Family leaves are stipulated in many countries around the world so the working adult can be home to provide for family emergencies, the birth or adoption of a child, or taking care of a sick parent or spouse.

A father who enjoys home life and who devotes a great deal of time with his wife and children: Jeff was a family man who always hurried home after work to spend as much time as possible with his son and daughter before they went to bed.

Despite the fact that Doug, the manager, worked late hours at the factory, he was at heart a family man who enjoyed being with his wife and three kids; especially, on weekends and whenever he had any time off from his job.

A branch of medicine that provides comprehensive health care to people regardless of age or sex, while placing particular emphasis on the members of a closely knit group; usually, including a mother, a father, and children: When Dr. McDonald's daughter June finished her medical studies, she decided that she wanted to practice family medicine with her father at his clinic.

A name shared in common with all of the members of a fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children; which is distinguished from each member's given or first name: The official medical form which was to be completed asked for all of the family names or surnames; as well as, each member's given name.

A program which is set up to regulate the number of children in a social unit through the practice of contraception or other methods of birth control: Susan and Greg, who were about to be married, talked with Dr. Lawson about family planning because, since they were unemployed, they didn't want to have children immediately.

1. A genealogical diagram of the ancestry of a related set of individuals: Harriet's cousin is very interested in creating a family tree to identify all her family ancestors.
2. The antecedents and descendants of a unit of related people: The family tree, or genealogical tree, identified all of the related ancestors going back about six generations.

A condition in which a woman is pregnant: Anna's brother told her that his wife is in a family way.

Permission to be absent from one's work to care for a member that is usually living with parents and their offspring: The family-care leave is a period when an employee is allowed to care for a family member who is pregnant, ill, disabled, or incapacitated.

A mother or a father who lives together in a household with his or her offspring: A single-parent family consists of only one of the parents who is living with a child or children.