son

[ suhn ]

/ sʌn /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for son on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

OTHER WORDS FROM son

sonless, adjectivesonlike, adjective

Other definitions for son (2 of 2)

son-

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

Brands like Lo & Sons and Delsey are already tapping Travel Noire to connect with black travelers.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
How many husbands, wives, sons, and daughters have we lost to a broken system?
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen|Parker Molloy|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I know that I cannot carry a gun in public and neither can my sons, even if it is a toy.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both the Ramos sons squeezed their eyes and lowered their heads, doing their best not to cry.
Choking Back Tears, Thousands of Cops Honor Fallen Officer Ramos|Michael Daly|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I had the opportunity to appear on the popular Sons of Anarchy series in their final season.
Porn Stars on the Year in Porn: Drone Erotica, Belle Knox, and Wild Sex|Aurora Snow|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are very urgent questions; our sons and daughters will have to begin to deal with them from the moment they leave college.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
He is dead; but his three sons have the estate yet, and I think they would keep their father's promise to the Indians.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
Three sons were the issue of this marriage, one of whom, Maximino Molo, was the father of Pedro.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
Then counting Noah and his wife, and his three sons and their wives, there were four pairs of human beings altogether.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Then the friars call the natives Spaniards and the military officers own us as their sons and they dub us brave soldiers.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for son (1 of 2)

son

/ (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 environmenta son of the circus; a son of the manse

Other words from son

Related adjective: filial

Derived forms of son

sonless, adjectivesonlike, adjective

Word Origin for son

Old English sunu; related to Old Norse sunr, Gothic sunus, Old High German sunu, Lithuanian sūnus, Sanskrit sūnu

British Dictionary definitions for son (2 of 2)

Son

/ (sʌn) /

noun

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

son

In addition to the idiom beginning with son

song and dance
son of a bitch

also see:

favorite son
like father, like son

son

Origin of son

OTHER WORDS FROM son

Other definitions for son (2 of 2)

Words related to son

How to use son in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for son (1 of 2)

Other words from son

Derived forms of son

Word Origin for son

British Dictionary definitions for son (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with son