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

Then there were her nephews, Nicola and Arrigo, the sons of her sister Anna who died young, left fatherless years back and raised in boarding school. —Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026

My father, brother, ex-wife and nephew have all served in the military. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2026

The incidents made visible the growing schism between Skeet Jones and his nephew, Brandon Jones, the county constable. —Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 21 Jan. 2026

Fidel Sáez lost his mother in the wreck, but his two children, his brother and a nephew survived. —Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 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