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.
We aren’t treated to a valorization of the nuclear family, or an African spin on resurgent tradwifery, or a paeon to the miracles of motherhood. Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2025 Musk's decision to father children with multiple women has attracted criticism from some social conservatives, who believe in the nuclear family centered around a mother and father. Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025 The entire final sequence, which sees Carter, with a rictus grin, slaughtering his wife in the kitchen, envisions the self-destruction of the nuclear family. Beatrice Loayza, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025 Image Financially unstable, Griffin’s own nuclear family is also threatening to split up. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 5 Jan. 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 13 Mar. 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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