Definition of FAMILY

1

: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : household

2

a : a group of persons of common ancestry : clanb : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : race

3

a : a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : fellowshipb : the staff of a high official (as the President)

4

: a group of things related by common characteristics: asa : a closely related series of elements or chemical compoundsb : a group of soils with similar chemical and physical properties (as texture, pH, and mineral content) that comprise a category ranking above the series and below the subgroup in soil classificationc : a group of related languages descended from a single ancestral language

5

a : the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family <a single-parent family>b : spouse and children <want to spend more time with myfamily>

6

a : a group of related plants or animals forming a category ranking above a genus and below an order and usually comprising several to many generab in livestock breeding (1) : the descendants or line of a particular individual especially of some outstanding female(2) : an identifiable strain within a breed

7

: a set of curves or surfaces whose equations differ only in parameters

8

: a unit of a crime syndicate (as the Mafia) operating within a geographical area