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

On Saturday, May 9, the Wedding Crashers actress, 75, shared rare photos on Instagram from her 1971 wedding to her first husband, David's nephew Michael Attenborough. —Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 11 May 2026

Hendricks started off as the barber of Paul Kamanaroff, the great nephew of the Koney King founder, Mike Petroff. —Anna Ortiz, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026

Last month, William Chan told CBS News New York his dog, a 7-year-old Shih Tzu-Yorkshire Terrier mix named Rocky, somehow got out of the house on April 5 while his nephew was dog-sitting. —Katie Houlis, CBS News, 9 May 2026

Reigns is the son of Sika Anoa’i and Fatu is the son of The Tonga Kid and the nephew of Haku. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 9 May 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