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• cousin
  cousin

  noun

  the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.
• Cousin
  Cousin

  noun

  Victor 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer: founder of the method of eclecticism in French philosophy.

cousin

¹ American  

[kuhz-uhn] / ˈkʌz ən /

noun

• cousins
  plural

1. Also called full cousin.  Also called first cousin.  the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.

2. one related by descent in a diverging line from a known common ancestor, as from one's grandparent or from one's father's or mother's sister or brother.

3. a kinsman or kinswoman; relative.

4. a person or thing related to another by similar natures, languages, geographical proximity, etc..

   Our Canadian cousins are a friendly people.

5. Slang. a gullible, innocent person who is easily duped or taken advantage of.

6. a term of address used by a sovereign in speaking, writing, or referring to another sovereign or a high-ranking noble.

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Cousin ² American  

[koo-zan] / kuˈzɛ̃ /

noun

1. Victor 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer: founder of the method of eclecticism in French philosophy.

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cousin ¹ British  

/ ˈkʌzən /

noun

1. Also called: first cousin.   cousin-german.   full cousin.  the child of one's aunt or uncle

2. a relative who has descended from one of one's common ancestors. A person's second cousin is the child of one of his parents' first cousins. A person's third cousin is the child of one of his parents' second cousins. A first cousin once removed (or loosely second cousin ) is the child of one's first cousin

3. a member of a group related by race, ancestry, interests, etc

   our Australian cousins

4. a title used by a sovereign when addressing another sovereign or a nobleman

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Cousin ² British  

/ kuzɛ̃ /

noun

1. Victor (viktɔr). 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer

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cousin Idioms  

1. see country cousin; first cousin; kissing cousins; second cousin.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cousinage
  noun
• cousinhood
  noun
• cousinship
  noun
• cousinly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cousins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cousin

1250–1300; Middle English cosin < Anglo-French co ( u ) sin, Old French cosin < Latin consōbrīnus cousin (properly, son of one's mother's sister), equivalent to con- con- + sōbrīnus second cousin (presumably originally “pertaining to the sister”) < *swesrīnos, equivalent to *swesr-, gradational variant of *swesōr (> soror sister ) + *-īnos -ine ¹; for -sr- > -br- cf. December

Explanation

If Aunt Sally has a kid, that kid is your cousin, and if Aunt Sally's kid has a kid, and you have a kid too, then your kid and Sally's kid's kid are second cousins. A cousin is a relative that's farther from you than an immediate relation like your brother or sister, usually the child of your aunt or uncle. Depending on how many children are born into your family, you might have tons of cousins you've never even met, like your distant cousin Johnny who went wild up in Alaska. We also use cousin to describe a kind of family resemblance between things, like the way barbecue sauce is the cousin of ketchup.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cousin Cousin cousins

Like his predecessor Brendon McCullum, Fleming is from New Zealand, the "little cousin" to Australia, in his words.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

“Every night we fear it could happen,” said Masoud Nourmohammadi, a cousin of the twins who is based in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

You can feel burned out and resentful, and also love your cousin and want him to be secure and happy.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

In the first season, he and his cousin performed poorly.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

Instead, I’m sitting in the passenger seat of my sister Celia’s car, waiting for our cousin Avery to come outside.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Cousin Luka Sucic, who plays for Real Sociedad, is also part of Croatia's World Cup squad.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

The research focused on the Seychelles warbler, a small songbird that lives on Cousin Island in the Seychelles.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026

Cousin Jake is a bit faster in the open field and a bit less interested in the mac ‘n’ cheese in the kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025

Cousin Rashad Wadood, the son of sister Aneesah Wadood, went to Lakewood, played with Cooper Kupp at Eastern Washington, and at 32 is a rising assistant coach with Oregon handling cornerbacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2025

She’d always kept house in Provincetown, although Momma wasn’t nearly as fussy as Cousin Eunice.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

It did not make sense to me that only children had aunts, uncles, and cousins.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

Ayala said that day, Adriana and her older sister had finished working as cooks at a Thai restaurant around 2 a.m. and decided to go out with two cousins.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

Before the board hired Otterman, two fourth-generation second cousins had led Lodge for nearly 50 years despite a relationship marked by what Daniel called “productive friction.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Like many Zimbabweans facing bleak economic prospects at home, the cousins were chasing better opportunities, in a story echoed across the continent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Boo’s room is full of toys from his cousins, from Celia, from the store, and from Lou Ann.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• relative