brother-in-law
Americannoun
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brothers-in-law
plural
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the brother of one's spouse.
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the husband of one's sister or brother.
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the husband of one's spouse's sister or brother.
noun
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the brother of one's wife or husband
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the husband of one's sister
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the husband of the sister of one's husband or wife
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of brother-in-law
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English brother in law(e); see origin at brother, in, law 1; from Middle English in-lawe “in law,” i.e., “a person within the regulation and protection of the law,” based on the prohibition by Roman civil law and, later, Christian canon law, of marriages within four degrees of consanguinity, i.e., up to and including first cousins
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"It's a nice little story being able to say we played rugby against Taylor Swift's brother-in-law, which I'm sure he loves as a title," Hackney full-back Peter Scott joked to BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“One of Us” is about your brother-in-law, which made me realize how few people write songs about their in-laws.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
They are, in effect, putting themselves at his mercy in the hope that your brother-in-law will take care of them if and/or when they need help.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
When Min came down with Stage 4 colorectal cancer a few years ago, his sister and brother-in-law were a constant presence at his side.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
In September 1925, as White tried to determine what secrets William Hale and his nephews Ernest and Bryan were hiding, he wondered if one person had previously uncovered them: Bill Smith, Mollie Burkhart’s brother-in-law.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
During the Civil War her brother George was a surgeon at a Confederate hospital, while three half-brothers and four brothers-in-law all supported the Confederacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Mason is survived by his wife, Winifred Wilson, daughter Danielle, nephew John Leonard, niece Michelle Leonard and his brothers-in-law, Sloan Wilson and Walton Wilson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Urfan's Pakistan-based family have taken Jhelum police to court twice, accusing them of detaining several of Urfan's brothers and brothers-in-law illegally.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2023
That’s when one of my brothers-in-law had to have surgery, to have some tumors removed in his brain.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
Patti starts pointing out faces and naming my father's cousins and their sisters and sisters-in-law and brothers and brothers-in-law.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
