families
plural of “family” — a social unit living together
An inflected form of family · plural.
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,675 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,240 times across 175,139 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- a social unit living together also: household, house, home, menage he moved his family to VirginiaIt was a good Christian household
- primary social group; parents and children also: family unit he wanted to have a good job before starting a family
- a collection of things sharing a common attribute also: class, category there are two classes of detergents
- people descended from a common ancestor also: family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, sept, phratry his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower
- a person having kinship with another or others also: kin, kinsperson he's kinhe's family
- (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera sharks belong to the fish family
families in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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There are a dozen families within as many miles.
Representative Plays by American Dramatists — Love in '76 · Oliver Bell Bunce · Chapter 1
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And what have they seen during the day in their families, or among their friends?
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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But against the selling of families separately and the use of the lash I set my face strongly.
With Lee in Virginia · G. A. (George Alfred) Henty · Chapter 1
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So there are families which refine themselves into intellectual aptitude without having had much opportunity for intellectual acquirements.
Elsie Venner · Oliver Wendell Holmes · Chapter 1
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The Marshes, together with the other three gently bred families of the town--the Waites, the Gilmans, and the Eliots--were all very retiring.
The Shadow over Innsmouth · H.P. Lovecraft · Chapter 1