brother-in-law
Americannoun
-
the brother of one's spouse.
-
the husband of one's sister or brother.
-
the husband of one's spouse's sister or brother.
noun
-
the brother of one's wife or husband
-
the husband of one's sister
-
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.
“This place is like a ticking time bomb,” said his brother in law, 48-year-old Mustafa Samhouri, who helped them out.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2023
A man from Freeport, N.Y. was arrested after sending a selfie from inside the Rotunda to his brother in law, a federal agent.
From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2021
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
While he was on good terms with the Court it was certain that she would lend no countenance to any cabal which might attack either the title or the prerogatives of her brother in law.
From The History of England, from the Accession of James II — Volume 5 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.
