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:
Josh Kushner, an investor and the brother of President Trump’s son-in-law, and retired Disney CEO Bob Iger came to the rescue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
James II was replaced by a historical anomaly—the joint monarchy of his daughter Mary Stuart and his Dutch son-in-law, William of Orange.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, reportedly worth $32 billion, is also a member of the consortium, while the group's frontman --Amit Bhatia -- is the son-in-law of Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Josh Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared, and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger are buying the controlling interest in one of the world's most iconic sports teams.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The old woman stood silently for a long moment, then she ran back to her home, grabbed her prepared bag of possessions, and begged her son-in-law to flee with her.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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
PapS assigns the different facts to his sons-in-law.
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.
