son
He's the son of an Oxford professor.
someone’s male child
He's the son of an Oxford professor.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
son
noun
pronunciation
The word son sounds just like sun.
a boy or man who is somebody's child:
They have a son and two daughters.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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 COBUILD 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
