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

Providing more context, the woman noted that her brother-in-law has two sets of children, the oldest of whom are in their 20s. —Erin Clack, People.com, 12 Apr. 2025

Mayor Fulop confirmed in an X post a brother-in-law of the family that died in the wreck was flying into the country Friday morning. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 11 Apr. 2025

Fulop further added that a brother-in-law of the family was due to fly in Friday morning as officials worked with the medical examiner to expedite the release of the bodies back to Spain. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025

Among the mourners was Juancho Guillén, who lost his wife three months ago and whose brother, sister and brother-in-law died at Jet Set. —Martín Adames Alcántara and Dánica Coto, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 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