[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/family.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / family [← F](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/F/) # family «family» in Mova's school dictionary: **a group of people who are related, like parents and their…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it. ### part of speech noun (family, families); adjective (family-friendly, family car) ### meaning for a pupil 1) A family is a group of people who are related, like parents and their children. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m1) 2) A family can mean all your relatives: aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m2) 3) In science, a family is a group of animals or plants that are alike: «the cat family». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m3) 4) (casual) «Family» or «fam» (slang) can mean close friends: «you're like family», «wassup fam». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m4) 5) (casual) Family words in talk: «mum/mom/ma», «dad/pop», «nan/nana/gran», «grandad/pop», «sis», «bro», «the folks», «the kids». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m5) 6) (euphemism) «In the family way» (old) means pregnant; «family reasons» may hide a sad private matter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m6) 7) (formal) Forms and exams say «household», «relatives», «next of kin», «dependants» and «members of the household». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#m7) ### sense in the lessons a group of people; equal groups (families with a number of people each) or a group that shares things; in science, lions and tigers are in the cat family; phrases: «a family of four», «family tree», «family name», «family pet», «run in the family», «family size»; in casual talk «fam», «nan + 2 cousins coming», «the folks», «the whole lot of us»; in rough talk «leave my family out of it»; in the exam voice «a household of four persons», «members of the household», «per household» ### examples - There are 4 people in Jo's family. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x1) - Each family gets 3 tickets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x2) - 5 families came to the picnic. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x3) - The family ate 12 pies. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x4) - My family has a dog and two cats. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x5) - We drew our family tree in class. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x6) - Lions and tigers belong to the cat family. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x7) - nan + 2 cousins coming, set table for all of us (we're 3), how many forks [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x8) - Wassup fam, pizza tonight? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x9) - He missed school for family reasons. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x10) - Each household of four persons is allocated 3 tickets. Compute the number of tickets allocated to 5 such households. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x11) - Leave my family out of it, mate. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x12) - There the whole family settled down. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/#x13) ### note Plural: families. A group word: families × members each = people. Trap: «a family of 4» counts the people, «5 families» counts the groups. Trap: in «nan + 2 cousins coming» add the people already at home. «household» in an exam means a family living together. «fam» may mean friends, not relatives. ### In the corpora - [Knowing this helps you understand why a family's week is planned round a piece of paper on the fridge.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/4/) - [These things are worrying, but they are almost never anyone's fault at home, and most families get through them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/4-when-work-goes-wrong/3/) - [While a parent is unemployed the family may claim benefits and cut spending; free fun like parks and libraries helps.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/4-when-work-goes-wrong/9/) - [Some families pay children for extra jobs, like washing the car, but tidying your own room is just part of living together.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/5-where-money-comes-from/9/) - [Benefits are paid for by everyone's taxes as a safety net, and many families who work get some help too.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/5-where-money-comes-from/11/) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every meaning and example of «family» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/family/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.