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:
Earlier reporting by The Times stated that Hilton was granted supervised visits with his children, but his brother-in-law said he had not had any contact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Jung Da-kyung, a law student, recalls a female friend asking her brother-in-law, an SK Hynix employee, to be introduced to someone at the chip maker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Shally Rahman's brother-in-law, Matiur Rahman, said his family were "speechless" about the incident.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
"They didn't arrive in time to save lives. Maybe my brother-in-law was alive in those first hours. But they certainly arrived in time to steal," he said angrily.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
She disliked her brother-in-law and her five-year-old niece, and she had no friends.
From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson
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
“Do you know what forces us to get in there?” said Margara Sanchez, whose brothers-in-law, uncles and cousins work at the mine.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
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
While he was incarcerated, Theodora divorced him; she and their seven kids moved in with one of his brothers-in-law.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2023
I kiss my sisters, shake the hands of my brothers-in-law, and say a final goodbye to the kids.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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.
