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

Can the letter writer let sister know her fuss over food and product choices for 4-year-old nephew is hard to watch? — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2026

This year about 70 people, including Gloria’s nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, got together at William McDonald Park. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2026

Quavo recently opened up about how the death of his nephew and Migos groupmate Takeoff impacted his then-fractured relationship with fellow group member Offset. — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026

Owned by uncle and nephew, Ronni Kurtz and Josh Brown, the two store coffee shop feels like entering a library with navy walls, dark-wood bookshelves and antique furniture. — Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026

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