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

Their son’s baby shower theme revolved around stars, and his mother-in-law gifted the couple a crystal star, which was placed in a kitchen window. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025

Travis Kelce's mom, Donna Kelce, sported Taylor Swift merchandise in a new social media post, and the sweet gesture from Swift’s soon-to-be mother-in-law didn’t go unnoticed by fans. —Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025

Some readers wrote in with concern that, given the relatively short timeframe of the relationship, the new boyfriend was taking advantage of the mother-in-law. —R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2025

Her father argued that if her mother-in-law was allowed to wear the shirt, then his wife should also be able to. —Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 10 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