superfamily

[ soo-per-fam-uh-lee, -fam-lee ]

noun,plural su·per·fam·i·lies.Biology.
  1. a category of related families within an order or suborder.

Origin of superfamily

1
First recorded in 1870–75; super- + family

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use superfamily in a sentence

  • The great suborder of butterflies is commonly separated into two principal groups called superfamilies.

    Butterflies Worth Knowing | Clarence M. Weed

British Dictionary definitions for superfamily

superfamily

/ (ˈsuːpəˌfæmɪlɪ) /


nounplural -lies
  1. biology a taxonomic group that is a subdivision of a suborder

  2. any analogous group, such as a group of related languages

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for superfamily

superfamily

[ sōōpər-făm′ə-lē ]


  1. A taxonomic category of related organisms ranking below an order or its subdivisions and containing one or more families. The names of superfamilies in the animal kingdom end in -oidea, such as Hominoidea, the primate superfamily containing the family of apes (Pongidae) and the family of humans (Hominidae).

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.