father-in-law
/ˈfɑːðəɹɪnˌlɔː/
"father-in-law" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“father-in-law” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One's spouse's father.
Corpus desk
Index EN-father-in-law · father-in-law · English
father-in-law · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | father-in-law |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɑːðəɹɪnˌlɔː/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “father-in-law” in English
Rare enough to double-check
father-in-law is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfɑːðəɹɪnˌlɔː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for father-in-law in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fader in lawe, fadyr-in-lay, fader yn lawe, equivalent to father + -in-law. The correct English form is father-in-law, spelled F-A-T-H-E-R---I-N---L-A-W.
Definition
- 1One's spouse's father.
- 2A stepfather.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how father-in-law appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
`Yes,` replied Snawley. `The fact is, I am not their father, Mr Squeers. I'm only their father-in-law.`
Etymology
From Middle English fader in lawe, fadyr-in-lay, fader yn lawe, equivalent to father + -in-law.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.