Meaning & use
nephew
Last updated
UK/ˈnefjuː/
US/ˈnefjuː/
Meaning
nouncountable
A boy or man who is the son of your brother or sister, or of your husband's or wife's brother or sister.
Grammar: Countable: my nephew, two nephews.
Patterns
- nephew of someone
My nephew just turned seven and loves dinosaurs.
She bought a toy for her nephew's birthday.
He is the nephew of the famous painter.
Word forms
| plural | nephews |
|---|
Common combinations
- favorite nephew
- Mark is his favorite nephew.
- my nephew
- My nephew is learning to swim.
- nieces and nephews
- She has six nieces and nephews.
- young nephew
- I babysat my young nephew on Saturday.
- grand-nephew
- His grand-nephew visited from abroad.
Synonyms and how they differ
- niece
- A niece is the female counterpart, a girl or woman who is a sibling's daughter.
- relative
- Relative is a general word for any family member, whereas nephew names a specific relationship.
- sibling's son
- Sibling's son is a descriptive phrase that says exactly what nephew means, and is used when the word is unclear.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: nephew or cousin?
nephew vs cousin
A cousin is the child of your aunt or uncle, but a nephew is the child of your brother or sister.
Practice
My brother's son is my ___.
Choose one answer.
The son of your brother or sister is your nephew. A cousin is the child of your aunt or uncle, and a grandson is a child's son.
Make it your own
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