family tree

American  

noun

family trees plural

1. a genealogical chart showing the ancestry, descent, and relationship of all members of a family or other genealogical group.

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family tree British  

noun

1. Also called: genealogical tree.  a chart showing the genealogical relationships and lines of descent of a family

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• family trees
  plural

Etymology

Origin of family tree

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

family tree

Strangers don’t need to know your whole family tree, which is the first way asking for free advice differs from paying a professional.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Perhaps Lodge’s career path didn’t stray too far from the family tree after all.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

Mr. Cole, who seems proud that his Banana Ball has a family tree, echoes a common plaint among non-baseball fans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

However, because fresh specimens were unavailable for DNA analysis, researchers could not determine exactly where these groups belonged on the millipede family tree.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026

Being a branch on the same family tree as Leo made sense to him, and this strange new history made Joseph suddenly feel more alive, more real, and not quite so lost.

From "The Marvels" by Brian Selznick