1. plural of subfamily; taxonomic categories that rank below families and above genera in biological classification
Usage: biology; taxonomy
2. plural of subfamily; subdivisions or branches within larger family groups

Examples

• The cat family includes several subfamilies such as big cats and small cats.
• Biologists classify roses into different subfamilies based on their characteristics.
• The museum exhibit showed how various subfamilies of dinosaurs evolved.
• Researchers study the relationships between different subfamilies of birds.
• The language belongs to one of the subfamilies of Indo-European languages.
• These subfamilies share common ancestors but have distinct features.