niece
Americannoun
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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."
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“My niece is a fancy dancer,” Auntie said proudly.
From Literature
“They Will Kill You” feels like helping my two-year-old niece put together a fairly simple, 12-piece puzzle, and watching her exclaim with delight before asking if we can assemble it again.
From Salon
Adults can forget how magical Christmas is for children—until you see nieces and nephews experience that magic anew.
"Enthusiastic astronomer" Nazish was out moon spotting with her three nieces and nephews and said she wanted to pass on the skill.
From BBC
As a dutiful aunt I tried to love all my nieces and nephews equally.
From Literature
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.
