immediate family
noun
: a person's parents, brothers and sisters, husband or wife, and children
Hospital visits are limited to immediate family.
Examples of immediate family in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This spring, The New York Times reported that one-fifth of federal-campaign donations in 2024 came from billionaires and their immediate family members—a total of more than $3 billion.
—
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
1 July 2026
Hours later, the club revealed that everyone’s immediate family is safe and accounted for.
—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
25 June 2026
Garcia and his wife attended the match between Portugal and Uzbekistan after entering a lottery on Vet Tix, a nonprofit that provides free tickets to sports, concerts and other events for current military service members, veterans and the immediate family of those killed in action.
—
Eleanor Watson,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
Ahead of Thursday afternoon’s 9-6 loss to the Athletics in San Francisco, Bericoto told reporters that his immediate family was safe, but that his brother’s girlfriend had been killed.
—
Sean Campbell,
Sacbee.com,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for immediate family
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
David A. Graham,
The Atlantic,
1 July 2026
Hours later, the club revealed that everyone’s immediate family is safe and accounted for.
—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
25 June 2026
Garcia and his wife attended the match between Portugal and Uzbekistan after entering a lottery on Vet Tix, a nonprofit that provides free tickets to sports, concerts and other events for current military service members, veterans and the immediate family of those killed in action.
—
Eleanor Watson,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
Ahead of Thursday afternoon’s 9-6 loss to the Athletics in San Francisco, Bericoto told reporters that his immediate family was safe, but that his brother’s girlfriend had been killed.
—
Sean Campbell,
Sacbee.com,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for immediate family
Cite this Entry
“Immediate family.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immediate%20family. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
