nephew

noun

neph·​ew ˈne-(ˌ)fyü 

 chiefly British  -(ˌ)vyü

plural nephews

1

: a son of one's brother, sister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law

2

obsolete : a lineal (see lineal sense 3) descendant

especially : grandson

Examples of nephew in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wayans' sister, Kim, and nephew Damien Dante served as directors on the series, while his son Michael was a staff writer. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 22 Apr. 2025

The mom of two also posted a cute photo of Tatum and nephew Aire, 3, watching TV together with their backs facing the camera and a video of her niece Stormi, 7, pouring pastel paints over a blank model bunny during a kids’ painting session. —Escher Walcott, People.com, 21 Apr. 2025

Arch is also the nephew of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning. —Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2025

Zoe lures her prodigy of a younger sibling out of the house to perform at a battle of the bands, and the nephew of a record label executive happens to catch their set. —Caryn Ganz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nevew, from Anglo-French nevou, neveu, from Latin nepot-, nepos grandson, nephew; akin to Old English nefa grandson, nephew, Sanskrit napāt grandson

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing nephew

• great-nephew

Kids Definition

nephew

noun

neph·​ew ˈnef-yü 

: a son of one's brother, sister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law