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

She is survived by her parents, seven sibling and many nieces and nephews. —Michael Guise, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026

Their nephew, Mathew Salter, lives in Ross. —Marin Independent Journal, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026

Carradine is survived by his three children — actor Ever Carradine, Marika Reed Carradine and Ian Alexander Carradine — as well as his brothers, nieces (including actor Martha Plimpton), nephews and grandchildren, according to Deadline. —Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026

Rio’s staunch griminess, dreaming of whacking his brother and wanting to cut his nephew’s tongue for snitching, drags Fxce out into the open sea. —Matthew Ritchie, Pitchfork, 23 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