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

Matthew Gaudreau's widow Madeline paid tribute to her late husband and brother-in-law on the first Thanksgiving since their tragic deaths. —Natasha Dye, People.com, 28 Nov. 2024

My sister, brother-in-law and 1-year-old niece moved back to Texas this year! —Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 26 Nov. 2024

But when a new killer begins copying Matt’s crimes as the ‘Westside Ripper’, Ava falls back into a true-crime obsession with her ‘Murder Bunny’ TikTok account, determined to find out whether her future brother-in-law is behind this new series of killings. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 21 Nov. 2024

After all, Alice’s sister was married to a Black man, and Leonard had interacted with his future brother-in-law well before 1924. —Bryan Greene, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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