folk
Usually folks. (used with a plural verb) people in general: Folks say there wasn't much rain last summer.
Often folks. (used with a plural verb) people of a specified class or group: country folk; poor folks.
(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.
folks, Informal.
members of one's family; one's relatives: All his folks come from France.
one's parents: Will your folks let you go?
Archaic. a people or tribe.
of or originating among the common people: folk beliefs; a folk hero.
having unknown origins and reflecting the traditional forms of a society: folk culture; folk art.
Idioms about folk
just folks, Informal. (of persons) simple, unaffected, unsophisticated, or open-hearted people: He enjoyed visiting his grandparents because they were just folks.
Origin of folk
1Other words for folk
Words Nearby folk
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use folk in a sentence
Many folks who have lived in the area for a long time are likely to recall prior storms that they weathered just fine, and figure they can survive whatever the next one brings as well.
Hurricane Laura is the strongest storm to hit Louisiana in more than a century | Sara Chodosh | August 28, 2020 | Popular-ScienceNow, the government agency says only folks displaying symptoms should seek a coronavirus test.
The CDC’s new COVID-19 testing guidelines could make the pandemic worse | Sara Kiley Watson | August 27, 2020 | Popular-ScienceI’m not sure many folks in Hollywood would be excited at that, so you might want to think twice about that.
All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their kids.
‘He is clearly in over his head’: Read Michelle Obama’s full speech denouncing Donald Trump | kdunn6 | August 18, 2020 | Fortune“It’s taken how extreme this disease is to highlight things that have always been challenges for some folks in our region,” Greene said.
Coronavirus Hit Latinos Harder Thanks to a Perfect Storm of Disparities | Maya Srikrishnan | August 12, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
Some will be avoiding New Year festivities entirely—and very sensible folk they are too.
The twang we hear as emblematic of white country music is actually the direct descendant of black folk music banjo.
Phonetic, made-up lyrics are another venerable tradition of folk music, and “pa-rum-pa-pa-pum” is iconic of the genre.
The folk memory of medieval community life had been wiped out by the industrial revolution.
Weeks went by where all they recorded were cover versions of old folk songs and country hits.
Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, and Others Crowdsource A Dylan Album | Malcolm Jones | November 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere are some folk in this country, you know, who manifest a very retiring disposition at times.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairIt was no wonder that he felt quite at home in the duck-pond, which was made for web-footed folk.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyMost of the feathered folk agreed that Mr. Blackbird ought not to have spokenp.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyMademoiselle snatched it from the hand, which was very tiny, and pink, with dimples where grown up folk have knuckles.
Rosemary in Search of a Father | C. N. WilliamsonMr. Meadow Mouse did not hesitate to use it, being one of those fortunate folk that are quite at home anywhere.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott Bailey
British Dictionary definitions for folk
/ (fəʊk) /
(functioning as plural; often plural in form) people in general, esp those of a particular group or class: country folk
(functioning as plural; usually plural in form) informal members of a family
(functioning as singular) informal short for folk music
a people or tribe
(modifier) relating to, originating from, or traditional to the common people of a country: a folk song
Origin of folk
1Derived forms of folk
- folkish, adjective
- folkishness, noun
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 Idioms and Phrases with folk
see just folks.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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