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folks

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folks¹

  • /fəʊks/ UK
  • /foʊks/ US
  • /foʊlks/ US, nonstandard

Rhymes with -əʊks

noun

  1. plural, plural only The members of one's immediate family, especially one's parents My folks visit us at Christmas.
  2. US, also, jargon, plural, plural only, progressive People in general; everybody or anybody. Lots of folks like to travel during the holidays.
  3. Louisiana, Southern, US, plural, plural only, rare The police.

noun

  1. plural plural of folk

folks²

  • /fəʊks/ UK
  • /foʊks/ US
  • /foʊlks/ US, nonstandard

Rhymes with -əʊks

Where it comes from

Coined by California historian Kevin Starr.

noun

  1. California, plural, plural only Late 19th and early 20th century migrants to California from Iowa and other parts of the Midwestern United States. McPherson's healing ministry, in fact. was at the core of her success, since so many of the Folks had come to Southern California in late middle or old age in the hope of regaining lost health.

Folks³

proper noun

  1. A surname.

proper noun

  1. plural plural of Folk
  2. California, Southern, archaic Transplants to Southern California from the Midwestern United States, especially Iowa.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: tribe, phratry, sept, country, family, kinfolk, kinsfolk, hillbilly, folk music, ethnic music, western, nonclassical, common people, family line, kin, parental

Translations

Every language

noun immediate family, parents in particular

日本語両親, 親戚, 人々

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Cite this
MLA

"folks." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/folks. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

folks. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/folks

Chicago

"folks." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/folks.

BibTeX
@misc{folks_2026,
  title = {folks},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/folks},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}