# nephew

/ˈnɛfju/ (US) · /nˈɛfjuː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/nephew
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. son of a sibling

noun · CEFR A2

the son of your brother or sister.

For teachers: the male child of one's brother or sister.

- My nephew is five years old and loves playing with his toy cars.
- She took her nephew to the zoo for his birthday, as he had recently developed a fascination with exotic birds.

Usage: The term also applies to the son of one's brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

### 2. son of a cousin

noun · CEFR B2

the son of your cousin.

For teachers: the male child of one's cousin; more precisely referred to as a first cousin once removed.

- I invited my cousin and her young son, my nephew, to the family reunion.
- While technically a first cousin once removed, he was always introduced to the children as their nephew to simplify the family tree.

Teaching tip: In many English-speaking cultures, this specific relationship is often just called a 'cousin' to avoid confusion.

### 3. a grandson

noun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

a son of your own child.

For teachers: a grandson or more distant male descendant.

- In the old story, the king left his crown to his nephew, the son of his eldest son.
- The legal document from the seventeenth century used the term nephew to refer to the testator's grandson.

Teaching tip: This sense is obsolete in modern English; learners will only encounter it in historical texts or literature.

## Examples

- I am taking my nephew to the park for his birthday.
- She bought a new bicycle for her nephew when he finally learned how to ride without training wheels.
- Although they lived in different countries, he maintained a close relationship with his nephew through weekly video calls and annual summer visits.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.