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

“You should give Cousin Lucretia a ring. She’s already completed our family tree all the way back to the 1800s. Shoot...most of our family ain’t even from here.”

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson