broken home

[broh-kuhn hohm]

noun

1. a family in which one parent is absent, usually due to divorce or desertion.

   children from broken homes.

Word History and Origins

Origin of broken home¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

It's hard enough for them to deal with the "grim reality" that they live in "an irreparably broken home... when almost everyone else knows their mother murdered their grandparents", he said.

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"The grim reality is they live in an irreparably broken home with a solo parent, when almost everybody knows their mother murdered their grandparents."

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Most of us come from council estates and broken homes – boxing is a way out.

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Wiggins - a gangly north Londoner, from a broken home, brought up in poverty - made it to the very top of a sport that requires clinical preparation and a calm head under pressure.

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I came from a broken home, and I was just like, “This isn’t my path — I’m not gonna repeat this thing.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times