parental unit

noun

The parent or parents present in a family, considered as a unit.

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Meanings

nounparental unit (plural parental units)

plural parental units

  1. The parent or parents present in a family, considered as a unit.
  2. derogatoryinformaloftenA parent.

Origin

In the informal sense, from the "Coneheads" American comedy sketch.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

parental unit. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parental%20unit

MLA

“parental unit.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parental%20unit. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parental unit,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parental%20unit.

Source: parental unit on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.