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

All my heart goes out to my beautiful, brave nephew and the angels (my neighbors) who jumped to my aid and endured the chaos for 45 long minutes on the icy asphalt New Years morning. —Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 3 Jan. 2025

An accident report obtained by The Hollywood Reporter showed that Renner was trying to help his nephew when the accident occurred. —Mariel Turner, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2025

The actor was attempting to save his adult nephew from a hydroplaning snowplow when he was crushed by the vehicle. —Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 2 Jan. 2025

Hernandez plans to spread Gaxiola-Chavez’s ashes in Mexico, where he was born, accompanied by her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. —Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 31 Dec. 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