kin
/kɪn/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈɪn] /kɪn/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈɪn] /ˈkin/ (ame, mw)
kin — noun
1. people who belong to your family through birth or through marriage, especially r
people who belong to your family through birth or through marriage, especially relatives beyond your parents, children, or siblings.
Diego invited all his kin to the summer reunion, even the cousins from Canada.
collocation: all one's kin
After the earthquake, Linh spent three days checking on her kin in the mountain village.
The old farmhouse has been passed down through five generations of the same kin.
Adisa's kin gathered from across the country for the naming ceremony of his first child.
In rural communities, looking after elderly kin is still seen as a family duty.
文法句型
possessive + kin
all + possessive + kin
kith and kin
next of kin
用法筆記
The standalone noun 'kin' sounds somewhat formal or old-fashioned in everyday speech — most speakers use 'relatives' or 'family' instead. However, 'kin' survives in fixed expressions such as 'kith and kin' (friends and family) and 'next of kin'.
常見錯誤
2. a person's closest blood relative or relatives, such as a parent, child, or spou
a person's closest blood relative or relatives, such as a parent, child, or spouse, especially in legal or medical contexts.
Ezra told the hospital his sister Yuna was next of kin in case of emergency.
fixed phrase: next of kin
When the soldier died, the army notified his next of kin within twenty-four hours.
passive: be notified of + next of kin
Camille listed her daughter as next of kin on the emergency contact form.
The court had to determine who qualified as the deceased man's nearest kin.
- closest relative
the everyday equivalent of 'next of kin'
- nearest relation
formal, similar scope
文法句型
possessive + next of kin
the + nearest / closest + kin
用法筆記
This sense is almost exclusively encountered in the legal or medical fixed phrase 'next of kin', which is treated as an uncountable singular noun (e.g. 'the next of kin has been notified'). 'Nearest kin' and 'closest kin' also occur but are rarer.
常見錯誤
kin — adjective
- kinpositive
- kinnercomparative
- kinnestsuperlative
1. connected by blood or common ancestry; belonging to the same family or ethnic gr
connected by blood or common ancestry; belonging to the same family or ethnic group.
The two mountain tribes are kin to each other, sharing a language and creation myths.
predicative adjective: are kin to each other
In Old English poetry, warriors often described themselves as kin to the king they served.
pattern: kin to [someone]
Though Noa lives in Japan and Olivia in Brazil, their families are kin by marriage.
The linguist argued that Basque is not kin to any known language family in Europe.
文法句型
be + kin + to
be + kin + with
用法筆記
This adjective sense is archaic or highly literary in modern English. In everyday speech, use 'related', 'connected by blood', or 'from the same family' instead. Typically appears predicatively (after 'be') rather than before a noun, except in formal or poetic writing.