nuclear family

American  

[noo-klee-er fam-uh-lee, fam lee, nyoo-] / ˈnu kli ər ˈfæm ə li, ˈfæm li, ˈnju- /

noun

nuclear families plural

1. a social unit composed of two parents and one or more children.

---

nuclear family British  

noun

1. sociol anthropol a primary social unit consisting of parents and their offspring Compare extended family

---

nuclear family Cultural  

1. A type of family made up only of parents and their children. (Compare extended family.)

---

Pronunciation

See nuclear ( def. ).

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nuclear families
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nuclear family

First recorded in 1945–50

Compare meaning

How does nuclear-family compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• nuclear family vs. extended family