Archie Bunker

American  

noun

1. a poorly educated blue-collar worker, holding ultraconservative, racist, and male-chauvinist opinions.

---

Bunker, Archie Cultural  

1. The central character in the 1970s television comedy series “All in the Family.” Bunker's family appreciated and loved him, even though he was bad tempered, ill informed, and highly prejudiced against virtually all minority groups.

---

Discover More

The creators of “All in the Family” intended Archie Bunker to be a parody of closed-mindedness in Americans. To their surprise, many people in the United States adopted Bunker as their hero.

Other Word Forms

• Archie Bunkerism noun

Etymology

Origin of Archie Bunker

From a character in the American television series “All in the Family” which premiered in 1971

Example Sentences

Reiner’s big break arrived in 1971, when he entered American living rooms as Michael Stivic, the liberal, longhaired foil to Archie Bunker in the popular sitcom “All in the Family.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

But the filmmaker’s social conscience was evident in everything he did, starting with his role as “All in the Family’s” liberal, hippie son-in law to conservative crank Archie Bunker.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

At a time when antiheroic leads, with the outsize exception of Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker, were a rarity on television comedies, Mr. Coleman’s distinctly unlikable Bill Bittinger on “Buffalo Bill” was an exception.

From New York Times • May 17, 2024

A corrective, in some ways, although so-called “lovable bigot” Archie Bunker was ultimately more popular with American viewers.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2023

The recommendation of the research department was that Archie Bunker be rewritten as a soft-spoken and nurturing father.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell