son

noun \ ˈsən \

Updated on: 15 May 2018

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

Shortly after the fire, when the Lindquists’ 21-year-old son, Matthew, could not be found, he had been identified as a person of interest in the state police’s investigation.

— kenneth r. gosselin, courant.com, "Hartford Woman Arrested On Murder, Arson Charges In Three Deaths Tied To Griswold Fire," 13 May 2018
Then in July, a passenger had to hold her 2-year-old son in her lap for four hours because the airline had sold his seat to a standby passenger.

— kristine phillips, chicagotribune.com, "Nigerian woman kicked off United flight after white man complained she was 'pungent': lawsuit," 12 May 2018
Johnson and her sons, then 3 and 5, would spend four months at Dayspring Center, 1537 Central Ave.

— maureen c. gilmer, Indianapolis Star, "How this mom went from a homeless shelter to her college graduation," 12 May 2018
Arika Williams of Walterboro, S.C., is calling for an investigation into the death of her son, Aiden Martin.

— anne branigin, The Root, "S.C. Mom Disputes Cops' Claim that 3-Year-Old Accidentally Shot Himself in the Head," 11 May 2018
Atwood’s 5-year-old daughter, Ella, adores Paul Menard, and her 9-year-old son, Lane, is a passionate Chase Elliott fan.

— tod palmer, kansascity, "Who is going to fill Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s shoes? | The Kansas City Star," 11 May 2018
The flight was bound for Copenhagen, where Bondra was headed to watch his 25-year-old son David represent Slovakia in the world championships, a proud moment for any parent.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "The Washington Capitals Busted Their Conference Finals Ghosts," 10 May 2018
An Ohio man is accused of leaving his 1-year-old son naked and alone in the woods southeast of Bend Thursday.

— everton bailey jr., OregonLive.com, "Baby found after being abandoned for hours in woods near Bend," 10 May 2018
Tiffany Griffin was more than skeptical when the day care explained how her 1-year-old son ended up with a swollen, bruised and bloody face.

— crystal hill, miamiherald, "Daycare said toddler severely beat 1-year-old. A medical expert agrees, prosecutors say | Miami Herald," 10 May 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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

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-

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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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