niece
Americannoun
-
nieces
plural
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a daughter of a person's brother or sister.
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a daughter of a person's spouse's brother or sister.
noun
Usage
Spelling tips for niece The word niece is hard to spell because it can be hard to remember the order of the i and e. Sometimes people want to spell it neice, which is incorrect. How to spell niece: The easiest way to remember how to spell niece is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C."
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of niece
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English nece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin neptia (unrecorded), from Latin neptis “granddaughter”; replacing Middle English nifte, Old English nift; cognate with Old Frisian, Old High German nift, Dutch nicht, Old Norse nipt; akin to Lithuanian neptė̃, Sanskrit naptī; cf. nephew
Explanation
Your niece is your siblings's daughter. It's as simple as that. Your parents' brothers and sisters are your uncles and aunts. If you are female, you are their niece. If you are male, you are their nephew. Both niece and nephew come from the Latin word nepotem. One nice thing about the spelling of niece is that it adheres to the "i" before "e" except after "c" rule. Whew!
Vocabulary lists containing niece
It's All in the Family
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Unit 20, Lessons 1–2
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Spelling Practice 1, Unit 4
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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:
This time, her muse was her own infant niece.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
"I never expected it would go viral and definitely didn't expect it to attract the attention of Dolly's family - especially her niece Jada."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
My wife’s niece has a son who will be going to college next year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
LaTanya Walker considered ordering abortion pills for her niece, she said, but she ultimately did not because she worried about whether they could exacerbate medical conditions.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
Papi repainted her place for nothing so her niece could sell it, but you never know.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
On that day, Ayala said, his nieces 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. 10, 2026
A relative suggested they move to South Florida and enroll their children in the Jewish day school Mrs. Kashani’s nieces and nephews attended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The following evening, one of Parton's nieces, Jada Star, performed as part of a tribute concert at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House, regarded as the home of country music.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
I like the brunch place where a waiter knows I want blackberry jam with my Texas toast, and I know what his nieces have been reading lately.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
As a dutiful aunt I tried to love all my nieces and nephews equally.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
