son
noun
a male child or person in relation to his parents.
son
1 American
[suhn]
/ sʌn /
noun
-
sons
plural
-
a male child or person in relation to his parents.
-
a male child or person adopted as a son; a person in the legal position of a son.
-
any male descendant.
a son of the Aztecs.
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a son-in-law.
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a person related as if by ties of sonship.
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a male person looked upon as the product or result of particular agencies, forces, influences, etc..
a true son of the soil.
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a familiar term of address to a man or boy from an older person, an ecclesiastic, etc.
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the Son, the second person of the Trinity; Jesus Christ.
son-
2
American
son
1
British
/ sʌn /
noun
-
a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents
-
a male descendant
-
(often capital) a familiar term of address for a boy or man
-
a male from a certain country, place, etc, or one closely connected with a certain environment
a son of the circus
a son of the manse
Son
2
British
/ sʌn /
noun
son
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of son
before 900; Middle English sone, Old English sunu; cognate with Dutch zoon, German Sohn, Old Norse sunr, sonr, Gothic sunus, Lithuanian sūnùs, Sanskrit sūnus; akin to Greek huiós
Explanation
Anyone can call a boy son, but technically, your son has to be your male child. If you're male, you are your parents' son. Well done, son! You can use the noun son for non-human animals too: "Our cat had six kittens, five daughters and one son." But it's far more likely that you'll describe human offspring as sons or daughters. Family names (or surnames) in many cultures include son or son of, like "Jefferson" or "Wilson," originally "son of Jeffrey" and "son of William."
Vocabulary lists containing son
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 son of mine has no father, no birth certificate and no national number," Amira, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
She left behind a 30-year-old son and a 32-year-old daughter.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Among the first to die was the man who had alerted Mulholland to the seepage — Tony Harnischfeger, who lived just below the dam with his 6-year-old son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
When, in 2000, Mr. Lloyd heard Hussain—the son of Alla Rakha, whose music had entranced him nearly a half-century earlier—new doors of possibility opened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Concerned for justice or retaliation for a son or husband, rather than a whole battalion of sons or husbands?”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Be careful there son- the last time I let a fan put themself in my shoes, they just took off running & sold them on Ebay.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2018
There was Joseph Manley, son- in-law and arch-disciple of Foster.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is the voice I hear even now when my mother addresses her son- or daughter-in-law.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
And then she pointed her crab leg toward her future son- in-law, Rich, and said, “See how this one doesn’t know how to eat Chinese food.”
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
It seems so, since your pride is compelled to own that the world would deem it one, if the jail chaplain took down the last words of your son- in-law!
From What Will He Do with It? — Volume 10 by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
SoftBank’s first-quarter earnings comfortably outpaced analyst expectations but this time around, Masayoshi Son the founder and chief executive, was unable to bolster his results with an increased valuation of the SoftBank stake in OpenAI.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
The complaint named Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin and Son Jung-hyun -- the former CEO of Starbucks Korea, who resigned over the furore.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Son put his finger to his lips in the universal “shhh” sign and then did his patented camera celebration — click! — miming a snapshot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
Just as life came through Pachamama, they believed, Mary was chosen by God as the mother through whom he sent his Son, who gave humanity the path to eternal life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
“The brooch I wear, the gift of Adaon Son of Taliesin.”
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Sittenfeld is a writer and public speaker who lives in Cincinnati with his wife and three sons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
For his 1973 album “Geeta,” Mr. Lloyd invited into his ensemble Aashish and Pranesh Khan, sons of Ali Akbar Khan, one of the greatest figures of 20th-century North Indian music.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The group also asked the Justice Department whether modifications to the settlement had the support of Trump, his two sons and their businesses, who brought the lawsuit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
"The Himalayas have lost one of their finest sons, but your courage, kindness, and legacy will continue to inspire generations of climbers."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
He liked to tell stories about how difficult I was, peeing in luggage stores and running off in airports, because that’s what dads who get to be with their sons every day do.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
