primary group

American  

noun

Sociology.

1. a group of individuals living in close, intimate, and personal relationship.

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Etymology

Origin of primary group

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

The Jazz, who had the best record in the regular season last season, are working with the same primary group of players and looked dominant for most of the first two games.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 26, 2021

Their primary group entertainment is trying to deduce which insufferable parent belongs to which member of their gang.

From Washington Post • May 12, 2020

The hunt for a cure for the common cold began in the 1950s, shortly after scientists discovered the primary group of pathogens—known as rhinoviruses—behind the sniffles.

From Scientific American • Sep. 4, 2018

And likewise, the primary group representing hobbyists who fly model airplanes previously expressed support for certain registration concepts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 19, 2015

The plants of this second primary group or order of the family Hymenomycetes exhibit a greater dissimilarity of form and texture than do those of the Agaricini.

From Student's Hand-book of Mushrooms of America, Edible and Poisonous by Taylor, Thomas