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

Law is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Kenzie and Nathan Wright; grandsons, Atlas and Fox Wright; brothers, David Law and Ronnie (Suzanne) Law; cousin, Henry Lee Law who was like a brother to him; and many beloved aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins. —Tom Tapp, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025

Legendary dual-sport phenom Bo Jackson has abandoned a $21-million judgment awarded to him last year in an extortion and harassment case involving his niece and nephew. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025

Her nephew, who was visiting, saw the flames and called 911. —Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 15 Jan. 2025

And the front-burner storylines just kept coming, among them Monica’s battle with breast cancer and her accidental affair with her nephew, Ned! —Charlie Mason, TVLine, 12 Jan. 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