son

noun \ ˈsən \

Definition of son

1 a :a human male offspring especially of human beings

b :a male adopted child

c :a human male descendant

2 capitalized :the second person of the Trinity

3 :a person closely associated with or deriving from a formative agent (such as a nation, school, or race)

—

sonhood

play \ˈsən-ˌhu̇d\ noun

See son defined for English-language learners

See son defined for kids

Examples of son in a Sentence

She gave birth to a son.
They have two sons and a daughter.
He is the son of a lawyer and a doctor.
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

Recent Examples of son from the Web

The Basses are perfectly happy in their fancy penthouse apartment with their son Henry and a new baby daughter named Evelyn Elizabeth, after Chuck’s late mother.

— kara nesvig, Teen Vogue, ""Gossip Girl" Characters: Where Are They 10 Years Later," 31 Aug. 2017
Generations of canny politicians, native sons espousing conservative and racist politics, dominated Washington from Reconstruction up until Civil Rights.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Yes, Gone With the Wind Is Another Neo-Confederate Monument," 30 Aug. 2017
Rath is survived by wife, Carrie, and son Patrick, 8, among other family members.

— toriano porter, kansascity, "Lee’s Summit detective succumbs to cancer after year-long battle," 26 Aug. 2017
Watson said his son lives on in the memories of his friends.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Drug addiction awareness concert planned in Havre de Grace Saturday," 25 Aug. 2017
Daniel Kammen is the son of Carol and the late Michael Kammen, whose work has informed me for decades, and this blog since its launch.)

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "People Are Fleeing Trump's Side in Artful Fashion," 23 Aug. 2017
This, of course, isn't the first time that Chelsea's stood up for the President's youngest son.

— maggie mallon, Glamour, "Melania Trump Thanks Chelsea Clinton for Defending 11-Year-Old Barron," 23 Aug. 2017
The sons predict that their parents and soon-to-be empty nesters will take their departure a bit differently.

— malaika jabali, Essence.com, "Black Excellence: These Quadruplet Brothers Are All Headed To Yale This Fall," 22 Aug. 2017
In Clinton, Mo., a woman at home on hospice began vomiting from anxiety from a tense family conflict: Her son had to physically fight off her daughter, who was stealing her medications.

— melissa bailey, Kaiser Health News, "Dying At Home In An Opioid Crisis: Hospices Grapple With Stolen Meds," 22 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'son.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of son

Middle English sone, from Old English sunu; akin to Old High German sun son, Greek hyios

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

son-

combining form

variants: or sono-

Definition of son-

:sound

sonic

sonogram

Origin and Etymology of son-

Latin sonus sound

SON Defined for English Language Learners

son

noun

Definition of son for English Language Learners

: a male child
the Son : the second person of the Trinity in the Christian religion : Jesus Christ

SON Defined for Kids

son

noun \ ˈsən \

Definition of son for Students

1 :a male child or offspring

2 :a man or boy closely associated with or thought of as a child of something (as a country, race, or religion)

sons of liberty

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Spanish Central: Translation of son Nglish: Translation of son for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of son for Arabic speakers

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son

Definition of son

sonhood

From the M-W Editors

Examples of son in a Sentence

Recent Examples of son from the Web

Origin and Etymology of son

son-

Definition of son-

Origin and Etymology of son-

Phrases Related to SON

Related Phrases

SON Defined for English Language Learners

son

Definition of son for English Language Learners

SON Defined for Kids

son

Definition of son for Students

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