family tree

American

noun

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

family tree British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

family trees

plural

Etymology

Origin of family tree

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

family tree

“Any family tree is going to be filled with colors,” Marshall added.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

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

The researchers then constructed a genetic "family tree" using all 102 bacterial strains included in the study.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

“My family tree does have a touch of mystery about it,” he replied after a pause.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023