family style

adverb or adjective

: with the food placed on the table in serving dishes from which those eating may help themselves

Examples of family style in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meals are taken family style, and the refinement of the cooking will ruin ordinary Indian restaurant fare for you. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Aug. 2026

Some dishes arrive family style, encouraging people to share food across the table. — Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

There are no menus, the drinks are unlimited (including the house wine), and everything is served family style. — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 June 2026

Workers allegedly lived at 'family style hotels' (boarding houses) owned by the target entities and were driven to and from work in transportation provided by the target entities. — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 15 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for family style

• epicondyle
• geotextile
• nucleophile
• aisle
• bile
• chyle
• file
• guile
• heil
• isle
• kyle
• mile