A cousin is the son or daughter of your aunt or uncle. It means they are part of your family, but not your brother or sister.
My cousin lives near my house.
She plays football with her cousin.
We use cousin to talk about something that is like something else. It means they are related or similar but not exactly the same.
This flower is a cousin of the rose.
The two languages are distant cousins.
In some places, people say 'cousin' to mean a friend or someone close. It is a casual and friendly way to speak.
Hey cousin, how are you today?
That cousin helped me a lot yesterday.
Sometimes people call their relatives by marriage cousins, even if they are not related by blood. This use is more informal and varies by culture.
She met her cousin-in-law at the wedding.
His cousin married into the family last year.
In older or regional English, cousin can mean any distant relative, not just a child of an aunt or uncle. This meaning is less common now.
He is my cousin from the north side of the family.
They call all distant relatives cousins here.
