cousin
gb/kˈʌzən/ us/kˈʌzən/
A1
English
~ 1400
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A1
entity
1
child of aunt or uncle
The child of your aunt or uncle.
Usage pattern:
[someone]'s cousin
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'cousin' with 'nephew' or 'niece'. A cousin is the child of your aunt or uncle, not your brother's or sister's child.
Synonyms
relative (A more general term for a person related to you by blood or marriage.)
|
kin (A somewhat formal or literary term for a family member.)
Antonyms
stranger (Someone with no family relationship to you.)
Collocations
first cousin
|distant cousin
|cousin on my mother's side
|close cousin
|second cousin
Themes
family
|relationships
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- My cousin lives in Australia and visits every summer.
- She invited all her cousins to the wedding.
- Tom and I are cousins because our mothers are sisters.
- I have a cousin who works in the film industry.
- Her cousin from Canada is staying with us this month.
Learner examples
- My cousin is ten years old.
- I play football with my cousin every weekend.
- Her cousin is very tall.
- We visited my cousin in New York.
- This is my cousin, Anna.
Noun
B1
entity
2
distant family member
A family member who is not close like a brother or sister, but related by blood.
Synonyms
distant relative (Specifies that the person is related but not closely.)
Collocations
distant cousin
|third cousin
Themes
family
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- He's actually my third cousin, but we just say cousin.
- Many of my cousins live in different countries.
- We met some distant cousins at the family reunion.
Learner examples
- I have many cousins in other cities.
- We saw our cousins at the big family party.
- My cousin is not very close to me.
Noun
B2
entity
3
something closely related or similar
Something or someone that is like another thing or person in an important way.
Synonyms
counterpart (Focuses on a direct equivalent in another context.)
|
analog (Used for something similar in function or form, often in technical contexts.)
Antonyms
opposite (Something that is completely different in nature.)
Collocations
close cousin
|natural cousin
Themes
comparison
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The jaguar is a close cousin of the leopard.
- Jazz and blues are musical cousins.
- The smartphone is a technological cousin to the tablet.
Learner examples
- The lion is a cousin of the tiger.
- French is a cousin of Spanish.
- The dolphin is a cousin of the whale.
Grammar
Expressions
cousin marriage
1/kˈʌzən mˈɛɹɪd͡ʒ/
fixed phrase
marriage between cousins
When two people who are cousins get married to each other.
Examples
- Cousin marriage is legal in some countries but not in others.
- They discussed the cultural history of cousin marriage.
first cousin once removed
1/fˈɚst kˈʌzən wˈʌns ɹimˈuvd/
fixed phrase
specific extended family relation
The child of your first cousin, or the first cousin of your parent.
Examples
- My first cousin once removed just had a baby.
- He explained that she was his first cousin once removed, not his niece.
kissing cousins
1/kˈɪsɪŋ kˈʌzənz/
idiom
informal
relatives who are familiar; closely related things
Family members who are close and see each other often; sometimes used for things that are very similar.
Examples
- We were kissing cousins growing up, always at each other’s houses.
- Boxing and wrestling are kissing cousins in the world of sports.