mother-in-law
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Outside the complex where Joan Manuel Lucena's mother-in-law was missing, rescuers found no signs of life.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Don’t miss: ‘We were stunned’: My daughter, 39, said her mother-in-law gives her more money than we do.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
“Svetlana bounced back and forth from my mother-in-law and from my cousin,” Monson de Kansky said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
But having grown up in less-privileged circumstances, she’s uneasy in the world she now inhabits and bristles at the condescending manner of her mother-in-law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Still determined to claim Judea for herself, Cleopatra arranged the rescue of King Herod’s mother-in-law, Alexandra.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
They teased one another, complained about overbearing mothers-in-law and celebrated milestones, like a daughter’s quinceañera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2025
No one today any longer wishes to hear jokes about nagging mothers-in-law, spendthrift wives or old jalopies, and the men and women who once told them to hardy plaudits are now forgotten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Lila Charif, Bahar Tavakolian and Laya Kadjavi, whose mothers and mothers-in-law were also close to mine, drew much inspiration from her in their own cooking.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2024
There, a team led by medical anthropologist Adelaide Lusambili of Africa International University conducted interviews with dozens of pregnant women, new mothers, male partners, mothers-in-law, community health care workers, and community leaders in 2021.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 27, 2023
We hadn’t told our mothers-in-law or Mam4 or—Lord knows!—
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
