What does "son" mean?
One's male offspring.
Son
/sʌn/ name, noun, phrase, verb, slang
name, noun, phrase, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One's male offspring.
- Grammar: son is listed as name, noun, phrase, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: boy, address term, aunt, auntie.
- Useful contrasts: daughter, father, fille.
- Usage evidence: You need not have helped my son with his homework.
How to use "son"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "son" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "son" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "son" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "son" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "son" is acting as name, noun, phrase, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "boy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "son", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One's male offspring.
"Before the birth of the man's child, he said: "I want a son, not a daughter.""
- 2 Son cubano, a genre of music and dance blending Spanish and African elements that originated in Cuba during the late 19th century. uncountable
"When son first emerged in the streets of Havana, in the early twentieth century, it was shut down by the police, as were most forms of African culture. Son groups, conjuntos, caught playing on the street, as was the tradition, had their instruments confiscated."
- 3 Initialism of supraoptic nucleus. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 4 a male human offspring wordnet
- 5 A male adopted person in relation to his adoptive parents.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A male person who has such a close relationship with an older or otherwise more authoritative person that he can be regarded as a son of the other person.
"Eli called Samuel his son. Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift."
- 7 A male person considered to have been significantly shaped by social conflict.
"He was a son of the mafia system."
- 8 A person regarded as the product of some place.
"I hold it to be true, that the people are the sons of the soil; and we are only their instruments here."
- 9 A familiar address to a male person from an older or otherwise more authoritative person.
"Son, can't you see that she's just a little girl?"
- 10 An informal address to a friend or person of equal authority. New-York-City, UK, colloquial
- 11 The current version of a file, derived from the preceding father file.
"Three generations of file are usually kept, being the grandfather, father and son files."
Verb
- 1 To produce (i.e. bear, father, beget) a son. transitive
"I sonned a father who would not be sonned, […]"
- 2 To address (someone) as "son". transitive
"“Don't 'son' me.” “I'm old enough to be your father,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand."
Phrase
- 1 Initialism of socked on the nose. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Proper Noun
- 1 One of the three persons of the Trinity, believed to have become incarnated as Jesus Christ.
- 2 A surname.
- 3 Abbreviation of Sonora: a state of Mexico. abbreviation, alt-of
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You need not have helped my son with his homework."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "son"?
Common synonyms include: boy, address term, aunt, auntie, blood brother, brethren.
How do you use "son" in a sentence?
You need not have helped my son with his homework.
How do you pronounce "son"?
Pronounced /sʌn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sonn, sone, sun, sune, from Old English sunu (“son”), from Proto-West Germanic *sunu, from Proto-Germanic *sunuz (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *suHnús (“son”), from Proto-Indo-European *sewH- (“to bear; give birth”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English sonen, sunen, from the noun (see above).
Etymology 3
From Spanish son (literally “tone, sound”).
Etymology 4
From son (“male offspring”).
Etymology 5
As a surname, from: *Korean 손 (son) *Khmer ស៊ន (sɔɔn) or Khmer សឺន (səɨn)