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 fight with her nephew shows why that matters.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Indiana Affleck, son of Casey and nephew of Ben, stars in the new film “Company,” directed by his dad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
On Tuesday, Parton’s estate, She’s Alive, LLC, requested a restraining order against Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver, court records show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The Daily Express leads with claims from author Tom Bower that the earl is "undoubtedly" working with his nephew, the Duke of Sussex, to "damage" King Charles.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
And the nephew of the preacher Ob had needed so desperately to find looked on Ob’s heartbroken face and saw his pain and he reached out and put a hand on Ob’s shoulder.
From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant
Alicia Schifferle, Mikaela’s sister, knew she had to give the competition everything she had for her future nieces and nephews.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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
Andrew's sister Chloe and nephews Lewis and Lucas said he was "the best role model", and his partner Kiera said "I am so lost now".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Your siblings and nieces and nephews are not first in line, and that’s OK.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Well, Mehrdad woke up one day and decided that he wanted his nieces and nephews to grow up as close to each other as he was with his cousins in Iran.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
