English

nephew

gb/nˈɛfju/ us/nˈɛfju/
A2 English
~ 3800
Senses
0 senses
Noun A2 entity
1

son of a brother or sister

The son of your brother or sister.

Usage pattern: [someone]'s nephew
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'nephew' with 'niece', which refers to a female relative instead of a male.
Synonyms
brother’s son (Specifies the exact family connection; less general than 'nephew'.) | sister’s son (Specifies the exact family connection; less general than 'nephew'.)
Antonyms
niece (Refers to the female child of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, as opposed to a male child.)
Collocations
eldest nephew |little nephew |proud uncle of my nephew |visit my nephew |take care of my nephew
Themes
family |relationships |daily life |core_vocabulary
Examples
  • My nephew is starting school this year.
  • We took our nephew to the zoo on Saturday.
  • Her nephew lives in Canada with his parents.
  • I bought my nephew a toy car for his birthday.
  • His nephew is taller than him now.
Learner examples
  • My nephew is five years old.
  • I play football with my nephew.
  • Her nephew likes ice cream.
  • My nephew lives in another city.
  • We see our nephew every weekend.
Grammar
Dictionary form
nephew
IPA
GB/nˈɛfju/
US/nˈɛfju/
Syllables & stress
neph - ew (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (neph)
Word forms
Noun
  • Base: nephew
  • Plural: nephews
Word family
Forms
nephews noun
Core family
niece noun A2
Related words
uncle noun A1 aunt noun A1
Advanced or less common
grandnephew noun
Expressions

proud uncle of my nephew

1
/pɹˈaʊd ˈʌŋkəl əv mˈaɪ nˈɛfju/
fixed phrase

man showing pride in nephew

When a man feels happy and proud about his brother’s or sister’s son.

Examples
  • I’m the proud uncle of my nephew who just graduated from college.
  • He introduced himself as the proud uncle of his newborn nephew.

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