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mother-in-law

mother-in-law

112 1.6
The mother of your husband or wife
  • noun
  • /ˈmʌðər ɪn lɔː/
translation icon : suegra
  • Oh no, how do I get my mother-in-law to like me?
  • husband's mother-in-law
  • wife and mother-in-law
  • mother-in-law and her daughter

Please welcome Antoinette Bond and her mother-in-law, Gloria Bond.

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Examples

  • Amanda, her husband Pierre, and mother-in-law all went to dinner.

  • Two days later, Ellickson finally called his mother-in-law so that he could talk to his wife, and Laura answered.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Yes, my dear mother-in-law, that is correct.

  • My, my mother-in-law lives with us and she is from Russia.

  • Like the mother-in-law said, bring your own food, right?

  • My mother-in-law gave my wife and I this for our wedding.

  • And while I eat this, my mother-in-law makes a mean carrot cake.

  • I was pregnant in 1979 and began to ask my mother-in-law about childbirth.

    Academic text (2004)
  • I'd really like my mother-in-law to stop gifting me socks.

  • After dinner, I always enjoy chatting with my mother-in-law about her travels.

Synonyms

ma-in-law
vsmother-in-law
  • Informal
8.9

The mother of your husband or wife

is the same meaning but used in neutral or standard speech

Surface Forms

mother-in-law singular

Morphology

mother-in-law = mother + in-law (transparent) = in + mother + law

If a learner knows 'mother' and 'in-law', the meaning 'mother by marriage' is directly recoverable.

Etymology

Mother-in-law combines mother and in-law, where in-law shows a family tie 'by marriage' rather than by blood. So a mother-in-law is your spouse's mother and is part of your family 'through marriage'.