son-in-law
Americannoun
-
sons-in-law
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of son-in-law
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sone in lawe; see origin at son, 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:
Court filings show that representatives for the BBC's legal team attempted in May to serve subpoenas to the president's son Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The consortium buying the stake in Liverpool FC is led by Amit Bhatia, the son-in-law of Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The news outlet Axios reported earlier that Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and go-to mediator for the Middle East and Russia, will head to Israel and Egypt next week for talks on the situation in Gaza.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The sale, which still requires NBA approval, marks the latest push by Kushner, the brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, into sports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Also invited were Abigail Adams Smith and her husband, the daughter and son-in-law of John and Abigail Adams.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Every year, we give each of our daughters and sons-in-law $100 for their birthdays.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Also inside the house with Mr Ezzedine were his wife, sister, daughters, daughter-in-law, sons-in-law and his grandchildren, she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2024
The same masters, however, often changed the rules of their guild so that only the sons and sons-in-law of current masters could become masters themselves.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Donahue is survived by his wife Andrea and three daughters, Nicole, Michele and Jennifer, in addition to three sons-in-law and 10 grandchildren.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2021
The sons-in-law all knew that the father was watching them, jealously, for signs of indifference or self-interest.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" 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.
