niece

American  

[nees] / nis /

noun

1. a daughter of a person's brother or sister.

2. a daughter of a person's spouse's brother or sister.

---

niece British  

/ niːs /

noun

1. a daughter of one's sister or brother

---

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."

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; nephew

Example Sentences

The group includes his niece, artist Hannah Peck, 27; woodworker and designer Jessie Blackman, 27; Ethan Casselbery, 28, who has experience in sculpture fabrication and metalwork joinery; and Jordan Kennedy, 36.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Jamshidi has family members, including his brother—who worked in a high-risk post as a security guard for the U.S. consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, for years—his sister-in-law, niece and nephew stuck in Camp As Sayliyah.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Murphy discovered a large amount of cash had gone and she confronted her niece.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

He has one adult son, from whom he is estranged, and a niece.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Emily Brent, too—actually a niece of old Tom Brent of the Regiment.

From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie

Related Words

• aunt
• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• sibling
• uncle