niece

noun

ˈnēs How to pronounce niece (audio)
plural nieces
: a daughter of one's brother, sister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law

Examples of niece in a Sentence

If he's my uncle, then I'm his niece.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The singer’s niece, Lainey Mae Parton, shared an emotional tribute after her grandmother’s burial, remembering the country legend as a source of unconditional love and support. — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 He is survived by his wife Grace; a sister, Suzanne Steuri Stofer and husband Chick; nieces Julie Stofer Kilmer and husband Jeff; Katie Stofer; brother-in-law Glenn Fager and wife Connie. — Dylan Sherman, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026 The event brought out a lineup that saw Carly Pearce, Jelly Roll, Parton's niece Jada Star, Molly Tuttle, Kathy Mattea, and other artists paying homage with performances of their own songs as well as hits from Parton's catalog. — Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 The problem is that Kevin is not a trial lawyer and only has his intern niece Paige (Lana Condor) and partners Sal Maltese (Tone Bell) and Dottie Jones (Martha Kelly) to assist him. — ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for niece

Word History

Etymology

Middle English nece granddaughter, niece, from Anglo-French nece, niece, from Late Latin neptia, from Latin neptis; akin to Latin nepot-, nepos grandson, nephew — more at nephew

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of niece was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing niece

Rhymes for niece

See All Rhymes for niece

Browse Nearby Words

Niebuhr
niece
nieceless
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Niece.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niece. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

niece

noun
ˈnēs How to pronounce niece (audio)
: a daughter of one's brother, sister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of apiary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All