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 state of Indiana resumed executions after 15 years An inmate has not been executed in Indiana since Dec. 11, 2009, when Matthew Eric Wrinkles died by lethal injection for the 1994 murders of his estranged wife, her sister and her brother-in-law. —Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024

Prior to that, Kelce told her brother-in-law about her plans to add a feline companion to the family. —Rachel Flynn, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024

The company executive certainly would be deemed to have violated his fiduciary duty, but what duty did the brother-in-law have? —Steve Weisman, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Holloway allegedly contacted her former brother-in-law, Terry Harper, and asked him to arrange a hit. —Tim Ryan, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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