nuclear family

noun

Definition of nuclear familynext
as in extended family
the part of a family that includes only the father, mother, and children

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nuclear family Clark came up in a traditional American nuclear family in Des Moines, Iowa with a family history defined by sports, as her grandfather was a locally famous high school football coach. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2026 Consider that, according to the Center for American Progress, in 1970, 67 percent of adults (defined as 25 to 49 years old) lived in a traditional nuclear family with a spouse and one or more minor children. — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 June 2026 Go take care of your nuclear family! — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026 Built up in the 1870s as a resort for nuclear families, Fire Island was destroyed by a hurricane in the 1930s, which quickly chased away its upper-class vacationers. — Air Mail, 23 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for nuclear family
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nuclear family
  1. extended family
  2. blended family
  3. people
  4. tribe
  5. household
  6. house
  7. clan
  8. blood
Noun
  • The family now lives in Boise, Idaho, but has visited England multiple times and still has extended family throughout the country, particularly around York and Manchester.
    — Taylor Eldridge, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The State Department also sanctioned the wife of Alejandro Castro Espin, a member of the Castro extended family.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 23 June 2026
Definition of extended family
Noun
  • Dietrich, 36, is now a stay-at-home mother to her blended family of four teenagers and a 17-month-old.
    — Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2023
  • Kourtney Kardashian Barker spent the Christmas holiday with her blended family.
    — Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 29 Dec. 2022
Definition of blended family
Noun
  • Another 13 people were wounded on downtown Sacramento’s K Street and 10th Street, in what became the deadliest mass shooting in the city’s history.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2026
  • Organizers say more than 125,000 people are expected throughout the event, bringing in millions of dollars for the local economy.
    — Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 19 June 2026
Definition of people
Noun
  • Native American tribes say the approximately 520-acre site in Virginia is sacred.
    — Dana Hedgpeth, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The company agrees with skeptics like the NFL that justices must eventually opine on whether states and tribes should regulate its sports event contracts as sports bets, a Supreme Court litigator working with Kalshi told Semafor.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of tribe
Noun
  • Students are eligible if their household income is no more than 300% of their area’s median gross income.
    — Lara Murray-Sterzel, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Real Simple tested the PrinceDeco Stretch Sofa Slipcover against an active household with two children and a 50-pound German shepherd/Shiba Inu mix, and reported the cover was still performing three months in.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of household
Noun
  • The resolution was introduced after revelations about Cornell’s handling of Jane Doe’s allegations that she was raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house in October 2024.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • While Cam Bates returned a punt to the house against Memphis, Broncos returners have also muffed several punts this season.
    — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of house
Noun
  • Advertisement The docuseries marks the first time the Loofe clan is sharing their side of the story, along with Nebraska investigators and an FBI agent assigned to the case.
    — Samantha Bergeson, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
  • All of these came from the family’s own archives, a treasure trove that shows the focus on craftsmanship that is almost genetic to the Prada clan.
    — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of clan
Noun
  • The federal government was preparing to change its rules on low-value imports, threatening her ability to purchase cheaper prescription medications for blood thinning and heart failure from Canada.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Three generations of women in my family — my grandmother, my mother, my sister — carried the same condition through the same blood before any of us had a clinical word for it.
    — Miranda Pappas, STAT, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of blood

Browse Nearby Words

nuclear families
nuclear family
nuclei
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Cite this Entry

“Nuclear family.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nuclear%20family. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on nuclear family

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about nuclear family

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