nephew
Americannoun
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a son of one's brother or sister.
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a son of one's spouse's brother or sister.
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an illegitimate son of a clergyman who has vowed celibacy (used as a euphemism).
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Obsolete. a direct descendant, especially a grandson.
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Obsolete. a remote male descendant, as a grandnephew or cousin.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nephew
1250–1300; Middle English neveu < Old French < Latin nepōtem, accusative of nepōs nephew, grandson; akin to Old English nefa, Dutch neef, German Neffe, Old Norse nefi; the pseudo-etymological spelling with ph has influenced pronunciation
Explanation
A nephew is the son of your sibling. This makes you the aunt or uncle of that nephew. While a mom, dad, sister, and brother are members of an immediate family, a nephew is part of your extended family because he's the son of a sibling. When brothers or sisters have male children, you become an aunt or an uncle to a nephew. If your nephew has a sister, she is your niece. Both niece and nephew originally meant "grandchild," but narrowed to their current meanings in the 1600s.
Vocabulary lists containing nephew
It's All in the Family
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Unit 20, Lessons 1–2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shares of Smith & Nephew have lost approximately 8.3% of their value since the beginning of this year.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
Speaking at Windsor, Mulligan said working on the film, titled Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, had been a "dream job".
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
That could fill several trucks, said Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University and a former nuclear negotiator with Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Nephew said if time was short, the U.S. could also seek to dilute the material on-site by mixing it with natural uranium or destroy it, although that could cause chemical contaminations in the area.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
The third car to pass stopped—a 1954 Chevrolet—and the driver, a black man, showed the same interest in Milkman’s clothes that Nephew had shown.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
