WordWeb Online

1. A social unit living together
   "he moved his family to Virginia"; "the family refused to accept his will";
   - household, house, home, ménage
    
2. Primary social group; parents and children
   "he wanted to have a good job before starting a family";
   - family unit
    
3. A collection of things sharing a common attribute
   "there are two families of detergents";
   - class, category
    
4. People descended from a common ancestor; blood relations
   "his family has lived in Massachusetts since the Mayflower";
   - family line, folk, kinfolk, kinsfolk, phratry, kith and kin
    
5. A person having kinship with another or others
   "he's family";
   - kin, kinsperson
    
6. (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more genera
   "sharks belong to the fish family"
    
7. A loose affiliation of gangsters in charge of organized criminal activities
   - syndicate, crime syndicate, mob
    
8. An association of people who share common beliefs or activities
   "the message was addressed not just to employees but to every member of the company family";
   - fellowship

Derived forms: families

Type of: accumulation, aggregation, ancestry, assemblage, association, blood, blood line, bloodline, clan, collection, descent, flesh and blood, gangdom, gangland, kin, kin group, kindred, kinship group, line, line of descent, lineage, organised crime [Brit], organized crime, origin, parentage, pedigree, relation, relative, social unit, stemma, stock, taxon, taxonomic category, taxonomic group, tribe, unit

Part of: order

Encyclopedia: Family, Trip