folk

(fōk)

n. pl. folk or folks

a. The common people of a society or region considered as the representatives of a traditional way of life and especially as the originators or carriers of the customs, beliefs, and arts that make up a distinctive culture: a leader who came from the folk.

b. Archaic A nation; a people.

2. folks Informal People in general: Folks around here are very friendly.

3. often folks People of a specified group or kind: city folks; rich folk.

4. folks Informal

a. One's parents: My folks are coming for a visit.

b. The members of one's family or childhood household; one's relatives.

adj.

Of, occurring in, or originating among the common people: folk culture; a folk hero.

Idiom:

just folks Informal

Down-to-earth, open-hearted.

[Middle English, from Old English folc; see pelə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

folk

– folks

Folk and folks are sometimes used to refer to particular groups of people. Both these words are plural nouns. You always use a plural form of a verb with them.

1. 'folk'

Folk is sometimes used with a modifier to refer to all the people who have a particular characteristic.

Country folk are a suspicious lot.

She was like all the old folk, she did everything in strict rotation.

However, this is not a common use. You usually say country people or old people, rather than 'country folk' or 'old folk'.

2. 'folks'

Your folks are your close family, especially your mother and father. This usage is more common in American English than in British English.

I don't even have time to write letters to my folks.

Vera's visiting her folks up in Paducah.

Some people use folks when addressing a group of people in an informal way. This use is more common in American English than in British English.

That's all for tonight, folks.

They saw me drive out of town taking you folks up to McCaslin.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	folks - your parents; "he wrote to his folks every day" plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one kin group, kindred, kinship group, clan, kin, tribe - group of people related by blood or marriage
	2.	folks - people in general (often used in the plural); "they're just country folk"; "folks around here drink moonshine"; "the common people determine the group character and preserve its customs from one generation to the next" common people, folk people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience" country people, countryfolk - people raised in or living in a rural environment; rustics gentlefolk - people of good family and breeding and high social status grass roots - the common people at a local level (as distinguished from the centers of political activity) home folk - folks from your own home town pleb, plebeian - one of the common people