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

Eskenazi founded Sandor Development Company, named for his two daughters, in 1962 and with his son and nephew, Jay Stein, grew the company's portfolio to include properties in 26 states. —Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 4 Feb. 2026

Jack Schlossberg, the nephew of Kennedy and a candidate for Congress, has been involved in an extensive and mutually harsh war of words with Murphy over the existence of a series made without the permission or input of the Kennedy family. —Daniel D'addario, Variety, 3 Feb. 2026

Instead of teaching his nephew how to fight, Jake shows Marc what real courage is, facing down his own demons along the way. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 3 Feb. 2026

Witnesses said Ashby was trying to get to Steinberg's client, who is charged with killing Ashby's 12-year-old nephew in a fatal accident last December. —Brian Maass, CBS News, 3 Feb. 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