folk

American  

[fohk] / foʊk /

noun

1. (used with a plural verb) Usually folks. people in general.

   Folks say there wasn't much rain last summer.

2. (used with a plural verb) Often folks. people of a specified class or group.

   country folk; poor folks.

3. (used with a plural verb) people as the carriers of culture, especially as representing the composite of social mores, customs, forms of behavior, etc., in a society.

   The folk are the bearers of oral tradition.

4. Informal. folks,

   1. members of one's family; one's relatives.

      All his folks come from France.

   2. one's parents.

      Will your folks let you go?

   Synonyms:

   tribe, clan, people, kin, kinfolk

5. Archaic. a people or tribe.

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adjective

1. of or originating among the common people.

   folk beliefs; a folk hero.

2. having unknown origins and reflecting the traditional forms of a society.

   folk culture; folk art.

idioms

1. just folks, (of persons) simple, unaffected, unsophisticated, or open-hearted people.

   He enjoyed visiting his grandparents because they were just folks.

folk British  

/ fəʊk /

noun

1. (functioning as plural; often plural in form) people in general, esp those of a particular group or class

   country folk

2. informal (functioning as plural; usually plural in form) members of a family

3. informal (functioning as singular) short for folk music

4. a people or tribe

5. (modifier) relating to, originating from, or traditional to the common people of a country

   a folk song

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folk More Idioms  

1. see just folks.

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Other Word Forms

• folkish adjective
• folkishness noun

Etymology

Origin of folk

before 900; Middle English; Old English folc; cognate with Old Saxon, Old Norse folk, Old High German folk ( German Volk )

Example Sentences

“The card collecting world is not the same anymore because of attention that it got from big folks who put their money into the hobby and see it as a big investment,” Pham said.

From Los Angeles Times

As folks on Reddit like to put it, this is a “boring dystopia.”

From Salon

Northern folk legend holds that arctic foxes create the Northern Lights by sweeping snow into the air with their tails, we learn in an author’s note.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the absence of her sober recordings, many observers turned again to the fantastic folk tales.

From The Wall Street Journal

I am still looking for growth, but maybe not the outsize growth that a lot of folks are expecting.

From Barron's

Related Words

• community
• family
• group
• people
• public