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

• blood
• clan
• family
• folks
• house
• kin
• kindred
• kinfolk
• kinfolks
• kinsfolk
• line
• lineage
• people
• race
• stock

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

For years the tribe has opposed the line as a risk to its water supply. —Jack Dura, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2025

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe called the pipeline a violation of its treaty rights and claimed the pipeline route risked polluting the tribe's primary water source and would damage sacred sites. —Seiji Yamashita, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2025

The Garifuna people are descendants of Indigenous Caribbean tribes and enslaved Africans, who were exiled from St. Vincent and the Grenadines by British colonizers and settled largely on the coast of Central America. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025

Jeff Probst reveals some Survivor 50 things fans will and won't be voting on On the tribe swap question, fans will have two options to choose from. —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 19 Mar. 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