son
noun
a male child or person in relation to his parents.
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son
1 American
[suhn]
/ sʌn /
noun
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sons
plural
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a male child or person in relation to his parents.
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a male child or person adopted as a son; a person in the legal position of a son.
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any male descendant.
a son of the Aztecs.
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a son-in-law.
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a person related as if by ties of sonship.
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a male person looked upon as the product or result of particular agencies, forces, influences, etc..
a true son of the soil.
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a familiar term of address to a man or boy from an older person, an ecclesiastic, etc.
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the Son, the second person of the Trinity; Jesus Christ.
son-
2
American
son
1
British
/ sʌn /
noun
-
a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents
-
a male descendant
-
(often capital) a familiar term of address for a boy or man
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a male from a certain country, place, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment
a son of the circus
a son of the manse
Son
2
British
/ sʌn /
noun
son
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of son
before 900; Middle English sone, Old English sunu; cognate with Dutch zoon, German Sohn, Old Norse sunr, sonr, Gothic sunus, Lithuanian sūnùs, Sanskrit sūnus; akin to Greek huiós
Explanation
Anyone can call a boy son, but technically, your son has to be your male child. If you're male, you are your parents' son. Well done, son! You can use the noun son for non-human animals too: "Our cat had six kittens, five daughters and one son." But it's far more likely that you'll describe human offspring as sons or daughters. Family names (or surnames) in many cultures include son or son of, like "Jefferson" or "Wilson," originally "son of Jeffrey" and "son of William."
Vocabulary lists containing son
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:
Another revealing discovery came from southern Italy, where researchers examined the genetic remains of Ostuni1b, a male fetus believed to be the son of a previously studied woman known as Ostuni1.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026
Bushby, a former paratrooper, is due to complete the challenge on Monday and will be met by his mother, his son and granddaughter when he arrives in Hull.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
A. Lee Gim Lai, his wife Jin Shee, his son Wing Hee, 8 or 9 years old, his daughter Sik Haw, 5 or 6 years old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
His son Eduardo, also a former Brazilian elected official, landed Florida around the same time, but has now moved to Texas.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
“Kate Fox at the Altar” described for the American public the wedding’s dresses, décor, and celebrity sightings: a German prince and the Duke of Wellington’s son.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Be careful there son- the last time I let a fan put themself in my shoes, they just took off running & sold them on Ebay.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2018
There was Joseph Manley, son- in-law and arch-disciple of Foster.
From Time Magazine Archive
And then she pointed her crab leg toward her future son- in-law, Rich, and said, “See how this one doesn’t know how to eat Chinese food.”
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
It is the voice I hear even now when my mother addresses her son- or daughter-in-law.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
It seems so, since your pride is compelled to own that the world would deem it one, if the jail chaplain took down the last words of your son- in-law!
From What Will He Do with It? — Volume 10 by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
Alex Pong left a career in tech to open the Paper Son Cafe in San Francisco in 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
Bourne has written songs for McFly and 5 Seconds of Summer, and also fronted his own band, Son of Dork.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Appeared in the October 21, 2026, print edition as 'Ellison Borrowed Heavily for Son'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
My current thinking: As I approach retirement, I would like to transfer ownership of the business to Son #1.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
“But He was the Son of God,” said John, “and He knew it.”
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
Two other fake sons arrived with my grandfather’s half-brother 13 years later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
The film’s subjects, mountaineer Jim Morrison and his partner Hilaree Nelson, found love at the edge of the world and made a life together, with Morrison becoming co-parent to Nelson’s two young sons.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
The 41-year-old has three sons aged 24, 21, and 19.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
We expect to help one of our sons with a down payment on a home in Los Angeles once he has enough savings for the monthly payments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026
Her husband was Derek, and their two sons were Marcus and Javari.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
