son

son S1 W1 /sʌn/ BrE AmE noun
[Language: Old English; Origin: sunu]
1. [countable] someone’s male child ⇨ daughter:
Her son Sean was born in 1983.
They have three sons and a daughter.
In those days, the property went to the eldest son.
their youngest son, George
son of
the son of a poor farmer ⇨ like father like son at ↑father¹(7)
2. [singular] spoken used by an older person as a way to address a boy or young man:
What’s your name, son?
3. the Son Jesus Christ, the second member of the group from the Christian religion that also includes the Father and the Holy Spirit
4. [countable] written a man, especially a famous man, from a particular place or country:
Frank Sinatra, New Jersey’s most famous son
5. my son used by a priest to address a man or boy
⇨ favourite son at ↑favourite¹(2)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

son

son [son sons] [sʌn] [sʌn] noun
1. countable a person's male child
• We have two sons and a daughter.
• They have three grown-up sons.
• He's the son of an Oxford professor.

• Maine & Sons, Grocers (= the name of a company on a sign)

2. singular (informal) a friendly form of address that is used by an older man to a young man or boy

• Well, son, how can I help you?

3. countable (literary) a man who belongs to a particular place or country, etc

• one of France's most famous sons

4. my son (formal) used by a priest to address a boy or man

5. the Son singular Jesus Christ as the second member of the Trinity
• the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
see from father to sonlike father, like son at father _n., sb's favourite son at favourite _adj., the/a prodigal (son) at prodigal
Word Origin:
Old English sunu, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zoon and German Sohn, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek huios.
Thesaurus:
son noun C
• He's the son of a teacher.
boy • • child • |informal kid • |especially BrE, informal lad • |formal offspring •
Opp: daughter
a newborn son/boy/child
sb's eldest/oldest/youngest son/boy/child/kid/lad
bring up/raise a son/boy/child/kid
Collocations:
Children
Having a baby/child
want a baby/a child/kids
start a family
conceive/be expecting/be going to have a baby/child
miss your period
become/get/ be/find out that you are pregnant
have a baby/a child/kids/a son/a daughter/twins/a family
have a normal/a difficult/an unwanted pregnancy; an easy/a difficult/a home birth
be in/go into/induce labour (especially US) labor
have/suffer/cause a miscarriage
give birth to a child/baby/daughter/son/twins
Parenting
bring up/ (especially NAmE) raise a child/family
care for/ (especially BrE) look after a baby/child/kid
change (BrE) a nappy/(NAmE) a diaper/a baby
feed/breastfeed/bottle-feed a baby
be entitled to/go on maternity/paternity leave
go back/return to work after maternity leave
need/find/get a babysitter/good quality affordable childcare
balance/combine work and childcare/child-rearing/family life
educate/teach/home-school a child/kid
punish/discipline/spoil a child/kid
adopt a baby/child/kid
offer a baby for/put a baby up for adoption
(especially BrE) foster a child/kid
be placed with/be raised by foster parents
Example Bank:
• Living alone and trying to bring up a young son is no easy task.
• The queen bore him four fine sons.
• They have three young sons.
• They welcomed me like a long-lost son.
• They've got three young sons.
• a native son of Philadelphia
• a single parent raising her son alone
• an illegitimate son of Louis XV
• his wife and unborn son
• He's the son of an Oxford professor.

• Maine & Sons, Grocers

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

son

son /sʌn/
noun [C]
1 your male child:
This is our son Raja.
We have two sons and three daughters.

2 used as an informal form of address by a man to a boy:
Come on, son, we haven't got all day.

3 LITERARY a son of somewhere a man who was born in a particular place:
that notable son of Württemberg, Martin Brecht

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

son

/sʌn/
(sons)

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.

1.
Someone’s son is their male child.
He shared a pizza with his son Laurence...
Sam is the seven-year-old son of Eric Davies...
They have a son.
N-COUNT: oft with poss

2.
A man, especially a famous man, can be described as a son of the place he comes from. (JOURNALISM)
...New Orleans’s most famous son, Louis Armstrong.
...sons of Africa.
N-COUNT: with poss

3.
Some people use son as a form of address when they are showing kindness or affection to a boy or a man who is younger than them. (INFORMAL)
Don’t be frightened by failure, son.
N-VOC [feelings]

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

son /ˈsʌn/ noun, pl sons
1 [count] : a male child
• She gave birth to a son.
• They have two sons and a daughter.
• He is the son of a lawyer and a doctor.
• an adopted son
- sometimes used figuratively
• our town's own native son [=a boy/man who is from our town]
- sometimes used by an older person to address a younger man or a boy
• Slow down, son, I can't understand what you're saying.
- see also favorite son, godson, grandson, stepson
2 the Son : the second person of the Trinity in the Christian religion : Jesus Christ
• the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
like father, like son
- see ¹father
prodigal son
- see prodigal