nuclear family

noun

: a family group that consists only of parents and children

Examples of nuclear family in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Particularly because this cosmic crew doesn’t look at all like the traditional nuclear family of the 1960s, no matter how many crisp white shirts Pascal wears. Maureen Lee Lenker Published, EW.com, 22 July 2025 Freud thought that a patient’s hysteria, say, wasn’t primarily caused by the present conditions of that patient’s life but rather by experiences and fantasies in very early childhood, especially those that took place within the nuclear family. Maggie Doherty, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025 Among many other things, Firestone wanted to abolish gender, capitalism, monogamy, childbirth, and the nuclear family model. Hazlitt, 11 June 2025 The audience experiences how Keisha lives humbly in an apartment in Windsor Hills with her single mom, compared to Justin who has a very nuclear family who resides in View Park. Malik Peay, Essence, 12 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for nuclear family

Word History

First Known Use

1924, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nuclear family was in 1924

Cite this Entry

“Nuclear family.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nuclear%20family. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

nuclear family

noun
: a family group that consists only of father, mother, and children

Medical Definition

nuclear family

noun
: a family group that consists only of father, mother, and children see extended family

More from Merriam-Webster on nuclear family

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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