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

Ong went to the home, but did not update his daughter, who subsequently called her brother-in-law and asked him to check on both Ong and the child, according to police. —Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025

Barry Windham, Rotunda’s brother-in-law and former WWE tag team partner, spoke about his condition over the weekend at a convention in Florida. —David Matthews, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025

Delia Dominguez Cervantes spoke of her late brother-in-law, a Filipino veteran of three wars. —Walker Armstrong, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2025

To stretch our rations, my husband, our young daughter, my brother-in-law’s family of four, and my in-laws—eleven of us in total—decided to eat together. —Literary Hub, 21 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