tribe

noun

ˈtrīb 

plural tribes

1

a

: a social group composed chiefly of numerous families, clans, or generations having a shared ancestry and language

b

: a political division of the Roman people originally representing one of the three original tribes of ancient Rome

c

: phyle

2

: a group of persons having a common character, occupation, or interest

3

: a category of taxonomic classification ranking below a subfamily

also : a natural group irrespective of taxonomic rank

the cat tribe

the rose tribe

Synonyms

• family
• clan
• house
• folks

Examples of tribe in a Sentence

a tribe of artists with wild hair and casual manners

the wedding joined the two tribes together

Recent Examples on the Web

Further clashes erupted in July when Syrian government forces intervened following attacks between the Druze and local Bedouin tribes. —Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025

The new movie promises fresh conflict as the Sully family, headed up by Marine turned Na'vi leader Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Na'vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), faces off against a new tribe. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025

Making a U-turn, Akerlund ventures to Botswana on the southern tip of Africa to visit a tribe of metalheads who sport leather jackets and cowboy hats and roar around on motorcycles blasting Metallica. —Paul Liberatore, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025

And for all the talk from the tribe about how much everybody loved each other, there were no hugs or goodbyes when Nicole’s torch was snuffed, just awkward silence — from both her and everybody else. —Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin tribus, a division of the Roman people, tribe

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tribe

• sub-tribe

Rhymes for tribe

• bribe
• gibe
• jibe
• vibe
• ascribe
• describe
• imbibe
• inscribe
• prescribe
• proscribe
• subscribe
• transcribe

Kids Definition

tribe

noun

ˈtrīb 

1

: a social group made up of many families, clans, or generations that share the same language, customs, and beliefs

2

: a group of persons with a common character, occupation, or interest

3

: a group of related plants or animals

Medical Definition

tribe

noun

ˈtrīb 

: a category of taxonomic classification sometimes equivalent to or ranking just below a suborder but more commonly ranking below a subfamily