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:
Gray is survived by his wife, Stacy Benon Gray; his stepchildren Ryan Cooper and Laurel Cooper; and son-in-law Lee Barker.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Kushner is the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law, while the US president was awarded the Peace Prize.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
“Many people have reservations about this scenario. After all, your son-in-law or daughter-in-law could remarry and the assets you worked a lifetime to accumulate could end up benefiting their new spouse.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Her son-in-law helped her move the money to a traditional fixed annuity that guarantees a 5.85% annual rate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
Alice Sole, sixty-three years old, struggled into the kitchen where her son-in-law sat.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
The brother of Jared Kushner, one of President Trump’s sons-in-law, Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009, and it raised its tenth fund, worth $10 billion, earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Every year, we give each of our daughters and sons-in-law $100 for their birthdays.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The couple are survived by their daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, the trust said.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
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
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
