immediate family

American  

[ih-mee-dee-it fam-uh-lee, fam lee] / ɪˈmi di ɪt ˈfæm ə li, ˈfæm li /

noun

immediate families plural

1. a social unit consisting of people who are very closely related, usually including parents, siblings, spouses, and children, or the members of this social unit.

   Benefits include free medical treatment for the employee and immediate family.

   Members of her immediate family and several former colleagues were also in attendance.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• immediate families
  plural

Etymology

Origin of immediate family

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immediate family

Also in June, China barred Teodoro, Manila's defence secretary, and his immediate family from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

My brother has me as his only immediate family member.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

King mentioned that “like many of you,” no one in her immediate family had graduated from college.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

Like all those outside, he worries constantly for his immediate family, who luckily all survived the war.

From Barron's ● May 9, 2026

“Now then, it will be your task to identify the man, find his immediate family, and invite them to Falling Water so that I may grant them immunity.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman