Tribe definition

trīb
tribes
See word origin
Frequency:
Any group of people having the same occupation, habits, ideas, etc.

The tribe of drama critics.

noun
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A group of people sharing an occupation, interest, or habit.

A tribe of graduate students.

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In stock breeding, the animals descended from the same female through the female line.
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(biology) A taxonomic category ranking below a family or subfamily and above a genus and usually containing several genera.
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A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent.
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Esp. among preliterate peoples, a group of persons, families, or clans believed to be descended from a common ancestor and forming a close community under a leader, or chief.
noun
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A political, ethnic, or ancestral division of ancient states and cultures, especially:
  • Any of the three divisions of the ancient Romans, namely, the Latin, Sabine, and Etruscan.
  • Any of the 12 divisions of ancient Israel.
  • A phyle of ancient Greece.
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A taxonomic category that is a subdivision of a subfamily of plants or animals and consists of several closely related genera.
noun
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(informal) A family, esp. a large one.
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A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent.
noun
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A group of this kind having recognized ancestry.
  • Any of the three divisions of the ancient Romans, traditionally of Latin, Sabine, and Etruscan origin.
  • Any of the later political and territorial divisions of the ancient Romans.
  • Any of the phylae of ancient Greece.
  • Any of the twelve divisions of the ancient Israelites.
noun
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(biology) A taxonomic category ranking below a family or subfamily and above a genus and usually containing several genera.
noun
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The definition of a tribe is a group of people, or a community with similar values or interests, a group with a common ancestor, or a common leader.

An example of a tribe is the dead heads who followed the Grateful Dead.

An example of a tribe is the Choctaw American Indians.

noun
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(taxonomy) A hierarchal rank between family and genus.
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(stock breeding) A family of animals descended from some particular female progenitor, through the female line.

The Duchess tribe of shorthorns.

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To distribute into tribes or classes; to categorize.
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A natural group of plants or animals classified together without regard for their taxonomic relations.
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(anthropology) A society larger than a band but smaller than a state.
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The collective noun for various animals.
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(informal) A large family.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
tribe
Plural:
tribes

Origin of tribe

  • Middle English from Old French tribu from Latin tribus division of the Roman people perhaps of Etruscan origin or possibly from tri- three trei- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English, from Old French tribu, from Latin tribus.

    From Wiktionary

Tribe Sentence Examples

  • The affairs of a tribe were ruled by a council of men past middle age.

  • A tribe living on the banks of the Nile between Wadi Halfa and Assuan are called Barabra.

  • In many cases it arranged the assemblies and ceremonial of the tribe; it regulated marriage, descent and relationship; it ordered blood feuds, it prescribed the rites of hospitality and so on.

  • South of the Drin is another complex mountain system, including the highlands inhabited by the Mirdites and the Mat tribe; among the principal summits are Deia Mazzuklit, Mal-i Vels, Kraba, Toli and Mnela.

  • Each tribe occupied a recognized territory, averaging perhaps a dozen square miles, and used a common dialect.

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Words near tribe in the Dictionary