cousin

noun

cous·​in ˈkə-zən 

1

a

: a child of one's uncle or aunt

b

: a relative descended from one's grandparent or more remote ancestor by two or more steps and in a different line

c

: kinsman, relative

a distant cousin

2

: one associated with or related to another : counterpart

Rural children deserve as good an education as their city cousins get.

—Benjamin Fine

3

—used as a title by a sovereign in addressing a nobleman

4

: a member of a group regarded as ethnically or culturally related

our English cousins

cousinhood

ˈkə-zən-ˌhu̇d 

noun

cousinly adjective

cousinship

ˈkə-zən-ˌship 

noun

Synonyms

• kin
• kinsman
• relation
• relative

Examples of cousin in a Sentence

Everyone came to the wedding, including a distant cousin no one had heard from in years.

The cricket is a cousin of the grasshopper.

hurricanes and their cousins, typhoons

Recent Examples on the Web

The current monarch is Grand Duke Henri, who is the cousin of Frederik's father Robert. —William Lambers, Newsweek, 10 Mar. 2025

The esteemed vocalist-guitarist skyrocketed to stardom — alongside his brother Raphael Saadiq (born Charles Wiggins) on vocals and bass and cousin Timothy Riley on drums, keyboards and backing vocals — in the late ’80s as one of the founding members of the trio Tony! —Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025

On Sunday, Battle’s cousins mourned in a relative’s apartment about a half-mile away from the shooting scene. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 9 Mar. 2025

Mangione’s cousin asked one of Luigi’s Gilman classmates on Sept. 21. —Lorena O'Neil, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cosin, from Anglo-French cusin, cosin, from Latin consobrinus, from com- + sobrinus second cousin, from soror sister — more at sister

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cousin

• cater-cousin
• cousin-german
• first cousin
• kissing cousin
• second cousin

Rhymes for cousin

• dozen

Kids Definition

cousin

noun

cous·​in ˈkəz-ᵊn 

1

a

: a child of one's uncle or aunt

b

: a relative descended from a common ancestor

2

: a member of a group regarded as ethnically or culturally related

our English cousins

Biographical Definition

Cousin

biographical name

Cou·​sin kü-ˈzaⁿ 

Victor 1792–1867 French philosopher