brother-in-law
Americannoun
plural
brothers-in-law-
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
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.
Anwar Usman, who was the court’s chief justice when the exception was made, is Widodo’s brother in law.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2024
Wilpon and his brother in law, Saul Katz, had over 500 accounts with Madoff, according to one analysis.
From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2019
Ibn Wahhaj, his brother in law, Lucas Morton, and sisters Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhannah Wahhaj are in Taos County jail awaiting trial.
From Reuters • Aug. 24, 2018
“My brother in law is a Cowdenbeath fan and tells a great story about the time Eddie the Eagle visited Central Park as part of a radio series on ‘Great Sporting Losers’,” says Simon McMahon.
From The Guardian • May 6, 2017
He had no reason, public or private, for preferring his sister in law to his brother in law, if his brother in law were bred a Protestant.
From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 4 by Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron
Definitions 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.
