collocations.org

Collocations for family - noun

1. group of people related to each other

ADJ.

large | old, old-established | land-owning, wealthy, well-to-do | hard-up, low-income, poor
tax incentives for low-income families
homeless | close, close-knit
We are a very close-knit family and support each other through any crises.
immediate
We''ve only told the immediate family (= the closest relations).
conjugal, nuclear
the nuclear family of parents and children
extended
maintaining contact with members of his extended family
lone-parent, one-parent, single-parent
the difficulties faced by one-parent families
two-parent | adoptive
helping emotionally damaged children to find placements with adoptive families
patriarchal | middle-class, working-class, etc. | royal | bereaved
a counselling agency to help bereaved families

VERB + FAMILY

belong to, be one/part of, come from
He belonged to an old-established family. | We all knew her so well that we felt she was almost part of the family. | Many of our students come from poor families.
marry into
She married into a wealthy family.
run in
a medical condition which runs in the family
be in
This painting has been in our family for generations.

FAMILY + NOUN

background, history
Do you know anything about her family background? | a family history of heart disease
connections, relationships, ties
They prefer to stay in their home country because of family ties.
member | life | business | home | commitments
The job wouldn''t really fit in with my family commitments.
income | doctor | holiday | feud | heirloom | motto | name
(= surname)
planning
(= controlling the number of children you have by using contraception)

PREP.

in a/the ~
These problems occur in all families.
within a/the ~
creating conflict within the family

PHRASES

family and friends
The support of family and friends is vital.
a member of a family

2. children

ADJ.

large, small | young
parents with young families

VERB + FAMILY

have
I always wanted to have a large family.
start
They got married last year and plan to start a family (= have children) soon.
bring up, raise
struggling to bring up a family on a low income
feed, support
It is difficult for them to earn enough to feed their families.

FAMILY + NOUN

size
Average family size has decreased since the Victorian era.
man
a good family man, completely devoted to his wife and kids

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