brother-in-law

noun

broth·​er-in-law ˈbrə-t͟hər-ən-ˌlȯ 

ˈbrət͟h-rən-,

ˈbrə-t͟hərn-

plural brothers-in-law ˈbrə-t͟hərz-ən- 

1

: the brother of one's spouse

2

a

: the husband of one's sibling

b

: the husband of one's spouse's sibling

Examples of brother-in-law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In her record-breaking guest spot on New Heights that same month, the superstar and her future brother-in-law discussed one of her special interests, numerology — which seems to have made an impact on Jason, who contemplated Travis’ new age on their show Wednesday. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025

His brother-in-law called Mikat a hero. —Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 1 Oct. 2025

The 1930 gas station was restored by former entertainer Gary Turner and his brother-in-law after it was destroyed by a fire in 1955. —Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025

That change to Shildt’s contract arrived last offseason — before Seidler’s widow, Sheel Seidler, sued two of her brothers-in-law in an attempt to gain control of the franchise. —Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brother-in-law

• avoirdupois
• aa
• aha
• bashaw
• bradshaw
• byelaw
• bylaw
• chainsaw
• cheraw
• coleslaw
• crenshaw
• dada

Kids Definition

brother-in-law

noun

broth·​er-in-law

ˈbrət͟h-(ə-)rən-ˌlȯ,

ˈbrət͟h-ərn-ˌlȯ

plural brothers-in-law

ˈbrət͟h-ər-zən-

1

: the brother of one's spouse

2

: the husband of one's sibling or of one's spouse's sibling