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

The Duchess of York pleaded with her brother-in-law to not be pushed out of the Royal Lodge. —Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 7 Oct. 2025

Susan Smith’s involvement in the crash was confirmed by Kevin Luntey, her brother-in-law. —Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2025

At the Valentino presentation on Sunday, Grant joined Del Rey and her brother-in-law, Jeremy Dufrene. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 6 Oct. 2025

Choi was reported missing on the night of February 21, 2023, by her second husband, Chris Tam, and Choi’s mother, Cheung Yin-fa, several hours after she was last seen getting into a white Toyota minivan driven by her former brother-in-law, Anthony Kwong, who was working as her chauffeur. —Eric Wilson, Air Mail, 4 Oct. 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