Meaning & use
second cousin
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Meanings
nouncountable
A child of one of your parents' first cousins, so you and this person share great-grandparents.
Grammar: Countable: one second cousin, two second cousins; the plural simply adds -s.
Patterns
- someone is my second cousin
- a second cousin of mine
Maya is my second cousin; our grandmothers were sisters.
I only see my second cousins at big family weddings.
He found out that his new neighbor is actually his second cousin.
nouncountableinformal
Used loosely by many speakers for any distant relative of the same generation whose exact link is unclear.
Grammar: In everyday speech, people often say 'second cousin' when they really mean a cousin once removed or a more distant relative.
Patterns
- a distant second cousin
- some second cousin of mine
She's some second cousin of mine from my father's side — I'm not sure exactly how we're related.
We invited all the second cousins, even the ones we barely know.
Word forms
| plural | second cousins |
|---|
Common combinations
- my second cousin
- My second cousin lives in the same city as me.
- a distant second cousin
- A distant second cousin of hers wrote to her out of the blue.
- second cousin once removed
- Technically, he's my second cousin once removed, not my second cousin.
- on my mother's side
- That second cousin is on my mother's side of the family.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cousin
- Use 'cousin' for the child of your parent's brother or sister; 'second cousin' means a more distant link through your grandparents' siblings.
- relative
- 'Relative' is the general word for any family member by blood or marriage, while 'second cousin' names one specific kind of relationship.
- kinsman
- This is a formal, old-fashioned word for a male relative; it does not show how close the relationship is.
Word family
- first cousin noun
- The child of your parent's brother or sister, a closer relationship than a second cousin.
- cousin noun
- A general word for the child of your aunt or uncle.
Commonly confused: second cousin or first cousin once removed? second cousin or stepcousin?
second cousin vs first cousin once removed
This means the child of your first cousin, or your parent's first cousin — one generation away, not two. People often mix these up with 'second cousin'.
second cousin vs stepcousin
A stepcousin is related only through a parent's remarriage, not by blood, so the family tree works differently from a second cousin.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'second cousin' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A second cousin shares great-grandparents with you, which matches a grandparent's sibling's grandchild. Option 0 describes a first cousin, option 2 is a parent, and option 3 is a niece — all different relationships.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “second cousin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.