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.

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nuclear family British  

noun

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

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nuclear family Cultural  

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

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Pronunciation

See nuclear ( def. ).

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• nuclear families
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of nuclear family

First recorded in 1945–50

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Compare meaning

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

• nuclear family vs. extended family

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nuclear family

At various points, sociologists proposed and critiqued affirmative action, inspired and lambasted welfare reform, diagnosed and dismissed the breakdown of the nuclear family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

There’s a real “misery loves company” component to the pressure to shoehorn everyone into their narrow vision of the nuclear family.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026

He just got his nuclear family back, plus two white kids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

Scott recalled growing up in a working-class family in Birmingham, "in a world of soap operas and things" where TV characters were mostly in heterosexual relationships or "settled down" in a nuclear family.

From BBC ● May 31, 2025

In the close quarters of an American nuclear family, their mother's prodigious energy was becoming a real drain on their self-determination.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

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