family room

noun

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of family room

1 US : a large room designed as a recreation center and informal gathering place for members of a family

2 British : a room in a pub where children are allowed

See family room defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of family room from the Web

The stainless-steel chef’s kitchen and butler’s pantry make for an enviable set-up that opens up to the family room.

— danielle fox, ELLE Decor, "Ellen Degeneres’s Former Beverly Hills Mansion Is For Sale For $33.7 Million," 4 Apr. 2018
Within 3,344 square feet of interiors are a family room, dining area, center-island kitchen, four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms.

— jack flemming, latimes.com, "‘Gone Girl’ producer Joshua Donen premieres his Malibu Midcentury at $5 million," 16 Mar. 2018
The home sits between Camelback and Mummy Mountains, with mountain views from the kitchen, family room, living room and pool.

— lorraine longhi, azcentral, "Luxury homes: $3.5M Gilbert mansion has UA-themed basketball court, 3 kitchens, 2 pools," 5 Mar. 2018
Distinctive elements: Formal living room; library; dining room papered in a 100-year-old Zuber scenic paper; breakfast room; china kitchen; kitchen; small family room; sits on 5-acres.

— taylor m. riley, The Courier-Journal, "This dramatic Anchorage mansion takes you back in time. Take a look around - it's stunning," 22 Feb. 2018
The living room, the dining room, the kitchen, the breakfast nook and the family room just keep flowing into each other.

— judy rose, Detroit Free Press, "What's special about this lakefront Harrison Township home? View after view after view," 17 Feb. 2018
For instance, Gustav Choto and his wife, Nataly, turned the family room in their Crocker-Amazon home into an Airbnb rental.

— San Francisco Chronicle, "Smaller, may be better," 16 Feb. 2018
The reception hall on the ground floor connects three rooms: the drawing room straight ahead, with views of the lake from twin bow windows; a dining room on the left, which fits a table that can seat up to 14; and a family room, also on the left.

— roxana popescu, New York Times, "House Hunting in … Ireland," 14 Feb. 2018
Instead, a long family-style table that seats a crowd separates the kitchen from the family room.

— birmingham magazine, AL.com, "Get a glimpse into this beautiful, custom-built Homewood home," 23 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'family room.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of family room

1772

in the meaning defined above

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FAMILY ROOM Defined for English Language Learners

family room

noun

Definition of family room for English Language Learners

: a large, informal room in a family's house that is designed as a place for children and parents to spend time playing and relaxing
: a room in a pub in which children are allowed