nephew

noun

neph·ew ˈne-(ˌ)fyü

chiefly British -(ˌ)vyü

plural nephews

: a son of one's brother, sister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law

obsolete : a lineal (see lineal sense 3) descendant

especially : grandson

Examples of nephew in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The revival will star Jack Cutmore-Scott as Frasier’s son Freddy, who dropped out of college to become a fireman; Jess Salgueiro as Freddy’s roommate, Eve; and Anders Keith as Frasier’s nephew David. —

Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2023 Two years later, Chenoweth's nephew tied the knot and Bryant’s band provided the musical entertainment again. —

Emily Strohm, Peoplemag, 3 Sep. 2023 My favorite personal example is this: My nephew plays high school volleyball, and his team’s schedule is posted in some hard-to-find part of his school’s website. —

David Pierce, The Verge, 3 Sep. 2023 In addition to his sister Elizabeth, Mr. Rowland is survived by his mother, Barbara Ann Rowland; another sister, Leslie Rowland Jacques; three nieces; and three nephews. —

Catherine Hickley, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2023 After his arrest at the border, Enriquez initially hired a private defense attorney from the Los Angeles area who was referred by a friend of his nephew. —

Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2023 Hamilton has just had a couple of weeks off, hiking, hot-air ballooning, losing at chess to his nephew. —

Robin Swithinbank, Robb Report, 26 Aug. 2023 One of them is my nephew, Chico Brown, Carlinhos Brown’s son. —

Isabela Raygoza, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2023 Wade is also the legal guardian of his nephew, Dahveon Morris, 21. —

Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 22 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nephew.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of nephew was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century