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

The rapper rose to stardom as one-third of the hip-hop group Migos, which also featured his nephew, Takeoff. —People Staff, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024

Over time, remittances provided a source of modest generational wealth for Xavier Martinez’s Mexican grandparents, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews — to the point where his American family no longer feels the need to send money, except in times of emergency. —Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2024

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