first cousin

American  

noun

1. cousin.

2. anything or anyone closely related to or resembling another.

   The film producer tried not to make the movie a first cousin to his last hit.

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first cousin Idioms  

1. A close relation or resemblance to someone or something, as in This new machine is a first cousin to the previous model. The figurative use of cousin, which literally means “the child of one's aunt or uncle,” dates from the 1300s.

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Etymology

Origin of first cousin

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

If the distinguished Soviet literary scholar Olga Freidenberg is known at all in the West, it is for her 45-year correspondence with her beloved first cousin, the novelist and poet Boris Pasternak.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

The genetic analysis identified her as my father’s first cousin once removed and my own second cousin, narrowing the search to my grandfather’s siblings and their children.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

The duchess, married to the late Queen's first cousin, had been the oldest member of the Royal Family when she died.

From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025

Since then, Matthew has driven to the West Country to meet his dad's genetic first cousin and her daughter for coffee.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025

Uncle Amin was his mother’s third cousin or something, since Uncle Amin’s mother was Zafoona’s father’s first cousin.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai