daughter-in-law
Americannoun
-
daughters-in-law
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of daughter-in-law
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English doughter in lawe; see origin at daughter, 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:
Neither Buckingham Palace nor representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will comment on the possibility of the King meeting his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, describing it as a private family matter.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Aqeel Khalaf, an herbalist, hit the road in the early morning with his brother, son and daughter-in-law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
Bruce Lebowitz’s daughter-in-law asked him at the March 2009 low if stocks would “go to zero.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
My son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter live there and take care of utilities, yardwork and maintenance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
What she learned most about Javier came from the family picture her daughter-in-law, Irina, dutifully sent every Christmas.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
The women in the village passed on the craft to their daughters and daughters-in-law.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Moore is survived by his sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2024
Photos from their trips, along with smiling images of their sons, daughters-in-law and three granddaughters, adorn every square foot of their spacious two-bedroom apartment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2023
Mollie also made dozens of quilt blocks that her daughters and daughters-in-law would eventually assemble.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2023
He went alone, then, and he had no mind to see either of his two quarreling daughters-in-law, nor even his grandchildren, in whom was his frequent delight.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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.
