son
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.
a son-in-law.
a person related as if by ties of sonship.
a male person looked upon as the product or result of particular agencies, forces, influences, etc.: a true son of the soil.
a familiar term of address to a man or boy from an older person, an ecclesiastic, etc.
the Son, the second person of the Trinity; Jesus Christ.
Origin of son
1Other words from son
- sonless, adjective
- sonlike, adjective
Words Nearby son
Other definitions for son- (2 of 2)
variant of soni- before a vowel: sonance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use son in a sentence
Julia Jackson, Jacob Blake’s mother, said the “violence doesn’t reflect my son.”
Violent protests against police brutality in the ’60s and ’90s changed public opinion | German Lopez | August 28, 2020 | VoxSocrates, a stonecutter’s son, felt most at home in the agora, or marketplace, of ancient Athens.
The business advice Socrates would give if he wrote a management book today | jakemeth | August 25, 2020 | FortuneHer son was eventually sold to an American couple for ₤1,000.
Moving across the country for the year, “felt like the best option as my job would have suffered and my son would have suffered if we tried to stay in Los Angeles.”
‘They need to model empathy’: Agency workers prepare for the start to a most unusual school year | Kristina Monllos | August 18, 2020 | DigidayHe would try to have a family member installed, perhaps his son.
The use of slurs from both characters makes it clear just how “new” the idea of an openly gay son is even in this time.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist | Judnick Mayard | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is a guy who has his son-in-law clean his eyeglasses, for crying out loud.
“They know there are drug spots,” said Wanda Williams, who was out for a walk with her son.
This is about no longer accepting that—as so many others have stated—a family would rather have a dead son than a living daughter.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTJennie kept his parliamentary vestments for her son, apparently instilling in Winston the sense that he would be a leader.
The Real-Life ‘Downton’ Millionairesses Who Changed Britain | Tim Teeman | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTElyon is the name of an ancient Phœnician god, slain by his son El, no doubt the “first-born of death” in Job xviii.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel ConwayMy son,” said Grabantak one evening to Chingatok, “if we are henceforth to live in peace, why not unite and become one nation?
The Giant of the North | R.M. BallantyneTwice a year the formal invitation was sent out by the old nobleman to his only son, and to his two nephews.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsAnd Melchizedek is here declared to be “a great man,” “assimilated unto the son of God.”
Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel ConwayHe had meted out stern justice to his own son, when he had banished big Reginald to South America; but he had his virtues.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
British Dictionary definitions for son (1 of 2)
/ (sʌn) /
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
Origin of son
1Other words from son
- Related adjective: filial
Derived forms of son
- sonless, adjective
- sonlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Son (2 of 2)
/ (sʌn) /
Christianity the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with son
In addition to the idiom beginning with son
- song and dance
- son of a bitch
also see:
- favorite son
- like father, like son
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse