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

Jeanne looked briefly at her nephew’s gift. —Allegra Goodman, Literary Hub, 11 Feb. 2026

On Tuesday, Sonia Sanabria took her 5-year-old daughter and 11-year-old nephew to a church in the Mission District neighborhood that offered free lunch to children out of school. —Olga R. Rodriguez, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2026

Survivors include sons Brendan and Dan O’Brien; and siblings Sheila McNulty, Paula Litman, Kevin O’Brien, Joanie Obiala, Larry O’Brien and Caron Hayes; as well as a grandchild and nieces and nephews. —Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026

Kristen Stark, strolling the block with her 1-year-old daughter, Hadley, and nephew, Simon, who is also one, felt the same. —Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 10 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