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

The nephew of Walt, along with his financial advisor Stanley Gold, led a successful revolt that forced Eisner’s resignation as chairman initially and led soon after to his very reluctant departure as chief executive. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026

Jaafar is the son of singer Jermaine Jackson, 71, and the nephew of the late Michael Jackson. —Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026

Residents of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, where Ghazali lived, said several members of his family in Lebanon, including his niece, nephew and brother, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. —Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026

Carr kicked off the evening with a lighthearted monologue written by a sophisticated combination of Grok and Carr’s eight-year-old nephew, to whom TPUSA has granted unlimited access to colored pencils. —Charlotte Y. Levy, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 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