daughter-in-law
Americannoun
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:
My son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter live there and take care of utilities, yardwork and maintenance.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
Trump’s son Eric and daughter-in-law Lara joined the tour.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
At Enniskillen Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, a solicitor said that Rutledge "cannot be sentenced as though he were responsible for the deaths" of his daughter-in-law and "adored" grandchildren.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
She is the daughter-in-law of former Fifth District City Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky, who later served on the county board of supervisors.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Chief among the captives was the old Queen, Hecuba, and her daughter-in-law, Hector’s wife Andromache.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
At Jalalabad's Nangrahar Regional Hospital, earthquake survivor Nader Khan broke down as he recalled how he lost two sons and two daughters-in-law to the earthquake.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2025
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
Abu Raya said those killed were from three generations of Abu Rayas — a couple, their five sons, two daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
Perhaps she had encountered him in the fields or on the mountain where the daughters-in-law collected fuel.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
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.
