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

Jess Mariano, the bad-boy nephew of Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), drops into Stars Hollow in season 2 to upend Rory and Dean’s relationship and harass the townspeople to near insanity. —Justin Kirkland, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Nov. 2025

The mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's 11-year-old nephew is in ICE custody after being detained earlier this month. —Michael Nied, PEOPLE, 26 Nov. 2025

The professional chef plans on passing the torch to his two sons, Hunter and Ryder, and his nephew Jules, for this holiday. —Janelle Ash , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 25 Nov. 2025

Rose has also shown up at the base to confront Shaw, furious about the abduction of her nephew. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 24 Nov. 2025

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