folk
Americannoun
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folks
plural
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(used with a plural verb) Usually folks. people in general.
Folks say there wasn't much rain last summer.
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(used with a plural verb) Often folks. people of a specified class or group.
country folk; poor folks.
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(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.
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Informal. folks,
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members of one's family; one's relatives.
All his folks come from France.
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one's parents.
Will your folks let you go?
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Archaic. a people or tribe.
adjective
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of or originating among the common people.
folk beliefs; a folk hero.
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having unknown origins and reflecting the traditional forms of a society.
folk culture; folk art.
idioms
noun
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(functioning as plural; often plural in form) people in general, esp those of a particular group or class
country folk
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informal (functioning as plural; usually plural in form) members of a family
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informal (functioning as singular) short for folk music
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a people or tribe
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(modifier) relating to, originating from, or traditional to the common people of a country
a folk song
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of folk
before 900; Middle English; Old English folc; cognate with Old Saxon, Old Norse folk, Old High German folk ( German Volk )
Explanation
Folk are regular people. Country folk can be suspicious of fancy city people, while city folk tend to act a little snobby toward country dwellers. The plural form of this word, folks, is often used for groups of ordinary people. You could say that folks in New York seem more accepting of your eccentricities than the folks back home in your small town. You can also refer to your parents as your folks, or use it as an informal, friendly form of address: "Hi, folks! I'll be your waiter today." The Old English root is folc, "common people, nation, or troop."
Vocabulary lists containing folk
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:
Along Fostoria’s Drummond Street, these homes’ front porches become stages for local and regional musicians playing folk, blues, country, Americana, rock and acoustic music.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Inspired the name of West Country folk band The Wurzels.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
There are of course unavoidable parallels between the stories of Kiritsis and Mangione, including the fact that both men were celebrated as folk heroes by some people who identified with their broader resentments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
The Irish folk group Beoga also said it would no longer serve as Sheeran’s band.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Maybe all the Conjure folk of the world could take to the sky and be safe too.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
“They know the best of what the impacts are on the tens of thousands of folks that live around each of those facilities.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Another option, something Briffault admits is petty but has been done before, is to slash the salaries of people at the agency responsible for the unlawful behavior, or even folks who worked on it.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
What he may not have anticipated was the extent of the cover Black players and notable Black folks gave the NFL.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2026
But other risk factors for fraud make certain older folks more vulnerable to scams.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
We only hear word about him now and again from folks who make it through.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
