nephew
Americannoun
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nephews
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
The manager of the late country music star Dolly Parton has dropped a lawsuit against her nephew.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Dolly Parton’s longtime manager has dropped a lawsuit against the beloved country singer’s nephew, who was accused of threatening his late aunt’s business empire.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
His nephew is Harvey Kitani, a future City Section Hall of Fame basketball coach who was at Fairfax and now Rolling Hills Prep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
"The parents of all these children must receive justice," tailor Muhammad Wahab, who lost his 11-year-old nephew Hammad in the accident, told AFP on Friday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
I fell in love with my husband’s nephew!
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
In addition to finding clothing for her children and her nephews and nieces, she keeps some for herself.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
As my nieces and nephews grew up, I had all the fun moments and none of the tedious ones: Yes to presents; no to homework, discipline and tears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
He and I are the surviving siblings, along with several nieces and nephews who are the children of my deceased siblings.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
But the house where he lived with his siblings and nephews was reduced to pieces by the quake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The uncle had told his nephews that he was going back to his hut, but in fact he hid in some trees nearby and waited to see what happened.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
