mother-in-law
/ˈmʌ.ðəɹ.ɪnˌlɔː/
"mother-in-law" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mother-in-law” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The mother of one's spouse.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | mother-in-law |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmʌ.ðəɹ.ɪnˌlɔː/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mother-in-law” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for mother-in-law is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmʌ.ðəɹ.ɪnˌlɔː/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for mother-in-law in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English moder in lawe; equivalent to mother + -in-law. The correct English form is mother-in-law, spelled M-O-T-H-E-R---I-N---L-A-W.
Definition
- 1The mother of one's spouse.
- 2A mother-in-law apartment.
- 3A mother-in-law sandwich.
- 4A stepmother.
- 5A spicy Caribbean sauce made with peppers, carrots, onions, lime juice, etc.
Etymology
From Middle English moder in lawe; equivalent to mother + -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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “mother-in-law”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-O-T-H-E-R---I-N---L-A-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmʌ.ðəɹ.ɪnˌlɔː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.