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:
“They’re a team,” said Carla Prieto, Fuentes’ daughter-in-law.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 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
A man who lost his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter refused to leave until he saw their bodies.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
My son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter live there and take care of utilities, yardwork and maintenance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
First there was Desdemona the week before, giving advice to her daughter-in-law.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Gisèle Pelicot sat behind her legal team alongside her two sons and daughters-in-law.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2024
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
Her daughters-in-law loved her, too, and she returned the feeling.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
