genealogy
noun
ge·ne·al·o·gy
ˌjē-nē-ˈä-lə-jē 
also
-ˈa-lə-
also ˌje-nē-
plural genealogies
1
: an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms
2
: regular descent of a person, family, or group of organisms from a progenitor (see progenitor sense 1) or older form : pedigree
3
: the study of family ancestral lines
4
: an account of the origin and historical development of something
Examples of genealogy in a Sentence
They've been researching their genealogies.
has a distinguished genealogy that traces back to William the Conqueror
Recent Examples on the Web
The series follows the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit using cutting-edge DNA analysis and open-source genealogy tools to solve some of the country’s most confounding cold cases.
—
Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
The book traces the fortunes of seven Black families across generations, excavating genealogies and tabulating, with forensic care, the labor extracted and the property lost.
—Idrees Kahloon, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Baby Hope's case was officially reopened in 2019 after a technique called genetic genealogy proved successful in cracking long-term unsolved cases like the 1988 murder of April Marie Tinsley
The process involves using public DNA databases to find close family members of an unknown person.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 14 July 2025
In the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, Griffin returned to Detroit from teaching in New York, with an ardent wish to track the genealogy of her family.
—Allana Smith, Freep.com, 13 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for genealogy
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Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2025
The book traces the fortunes of seven Black families across generations, excavating genealogies and tabulating, with forensic care, the labor extracted and the property lost.
—Idrees Kahloon, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
Baby Hope's case was officially reopened in 2019 after a technique called genetic genealogy proved successful in cracking long-term unsolved cases like the 1988 murder of April Marie Tinsley
The process involves using public DNA databases to find close family members of an unknown person.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 14 July 2025
In the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, Griffin returned to Detroit from teaching in New York, with an ardent wish to track the genealogy of her family.
—Allana Smith, Freep.com, 13 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for genealogy
Cite this Entry
“Genealogy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genealogy. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
genealogy
noun
ge·ne·al·o·gy
ˌjē-nē-ˈäl-ə-jē
ˌjen-ē-
ˌjen-ē-
-ˈal-
plural genealogies
1
: the line of ancestors of a person or family or a history of such a line of ancestors
2
: the study of family lines of ancestors
genealogist
noun
-ˈäl-ə-jəst
-ˈal-
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