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

Mark Peary, the nephew of the late Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, filed the suit in January, seeking to invalidate the studio’s copyrights under the laws of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Ireland. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 6 Mar. 2025

Jonathan Lowry, Gary Lowry’s nephew who lives in Texas, spoke at Wells’ sentencing after making a trip to the federal courthouse in Portland, according to The Oregonian. —Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025

Wade was also awarded full custody of his 21-year-old nephew Dahveon Morris in 2011. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

Wade is also the legal guardian of his nephew, Dahveon Morris, 21. —Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 26 Feb. 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