mother-in-law
Americannoun
plural
mothers-in-lawnoun
Etymology
Origin of mother-in-law
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English moder in lawe; see origin at mother 1 ( def. ), in ( def. ), law 1 ( def. ); 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.
Her mother-in-law once offered to spend $50,000 on her teeth but, like Queen Elizabeth II, she stuck with her OG choppers.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
Or will I end up being the mother-in-law to a Chatbot?
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Hewlett says the album was also inspired by his late mother-in-law, Amo, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and opted for Eastern medicine instead of chemo.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
His mother-in-law, Choi Eun-soon, was sentenced to one year in prison for forging financial documents in a real estate deal.
From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026
Even the scandalous news that her supposedly grieving mother-in-law seemed to be on the brink of remarriage did not force a peep from the precariously balanced Lady Constance.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
