mother-in-law

noun

moth·​er-in-law ˈmə-t͟hər-ən-ˌlȯ 

ˈmət͟h-rən-,

ˈmə-t͟hərn-

plural mothers-in-law ˈmə-t͟hər-zən-ˌlȯ 

1

: the mother of one's spouse

2

archaic : stepmother

Examples of mother-in-law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My mother-in-law serves cowboy candy every holiday over a block of cream cheese (think pepper jelly but with a tiny bit more heat), but some folks like to snack on them as is. —Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025

In a post on Reddit, the woman explained that her mother-in-law stayed at their house one night back in June. —Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025

Season 12 ended in March, with Elizabeth (Krakow) and Nathan (McGarry) heading to stay at her former mother-in-law Charlotte’s (Shields) boarding house. —Emily Longeretta, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025

Among the slate is The Mother, The Menacer and Me, starring Lorraine Bracco in a family comedy/drama about a Hollywood hopeful (James Austin Kerr) who moves in with his disapproving mother-in-law (Bracco) while trying to make his dream come true. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mother-in-law

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

Kids Definition

mother-in-law

noun

moth·​er-in-law

ˈmət͟h-(ə-)rən-ˌlȯ,

ˈmət͟h-ərn-ˌlȯ

plural mothers-in-law

ˈmət͟h-ər-zən-

: the mother of one's husband or wife