Definition of "family unit" []

• Primary social group; parents and children (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "His family had struggled against poverty and all the temptations and frustrations lack of money caused, but the family unit had been strong, his parents firm in their faith and determined to make the most of their lives."
• "It is unlikely in a predator-laden environment that males would have gone off to hunt, leaving women and children alone; more plausible is that the kin network and family unit remained together, with both sexes scavenging for meat and defending the young."