folk
Americannoun
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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
- 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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Western folk ballad “Clementine” appeared in more than two dozen known 19th-century song collections, with an estimated cumulative circulation in the tens of thousands.
The research team began reviewing folk songs, poems, and myths written or performed in Marathi, some dating back to the 13th century.
From Science Daily
Their cross-cultural collaboration has been three years in the making and recently featured prominently at one of the UK's largest international folk and world music festivals.
From BBC
Those bearing the structures often gyrate to the beat provided by percussionists alongside religious chants and devotional folk songs.
From Barron's
"What warms my heart is folks coming in and seeing what a vibrant neighbourhood it is."
From BBC
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.
