next of kin

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noun

a person's nearest relative or relatives: The newspaper did not publish the names of casualties until the next of kin had been notified.

Law. the nearest relative or relatives who share in the estate of a person who dies intestate.

Nearby words

newtownabbey, next, next door, next door to, next friend, next of kin, next to, next-door, nexus, nexö, nexø

Origin of next of kin

First recorded in 1760–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for next of kin

A year passed, and yet the next-of-kin had heard nothing of the case.
Mysteries of Police and Crime|Arthur Griffiths
Say that you insist, as next-of-kin, on having access to your uncle's belongings.
The Chestermarke Instinct|J. S. Fletcher
Was it for the constituted authorities or for the next-of-kin?
Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (2 of 2) (1888)|William Henry Hurlbert
The next-of-kin are very watchful over the shekels; and the man who marries a widow with relations does not always enter paradise.
Cornish Saints and Sinners|J. Henry Harris

The farm was a family property, and passed to the rabbit-shooting cousin as the next-of-kin.
Beasts and Super-Beasts|Saki

British Dictionary definitions for next of kin

next of kin

noun

a person's closest relative or relatives

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

next of kin

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of next of kin

Examples from the Web for next of kin

British Dictionary definitions for next of kin

next of kin

noun