Niece Definition & Meaning

American

British

Usage

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms niece American [nees] / nis /

noun

1. a daughter of a person's brother or sister.

2. a daughter of a person's spouse's brother or sister.

niece British / niːs /

noun

1. a daughter of one's sister or brother

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

Spelling tips for niece The word niece is hard to spell because it can be hard to remember the order of the i and e. Sometimes people want to spell it neice, which is incorrect.How to spell niece: The easiest way to remember how to spell niece is with the classic mnemonic device: “I before E, except after C."

Etymology

Origin of niece

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English nece, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin neptia (unrecorded), from Latin neptis “granddaughter”; replacing Middle English nifte, Old English nift; cognate with Old Frisian, Old High German nift, Dutch nicht, Old Norse nipt; akin to Lithuanian neptė̃, Sanskrit naptī; nephew

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

My niece isn’t a frequent flier and was grateful for my help getting her new flights home from Florida without paying a cent during last month’s blizzard.

From The Wall Street Journal

When our niece and her husband recently stayed with us, we taught them to ride our spare tandem bike in Golden Gate Park.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her wider family described Demi as a "beloved" daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin and niece.

From BBC

Determined to give her niece a stable upbringing, Aunt Irene unhappily but dutifully left a comfortable life in Ohio to return to her small-minded hometown in the Deep South.

From The Wall Street Journal

Releford’s children, nieces, nephews and cousins all contribute to its success.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• aunt
• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• sibling
• uncle

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.