Brother-in-laws vs. Brothers-in-law

Brother-in-laws

/ˈbrʌðər ɪn lɔz/

The male sibling of one's spouse

Examples:

We spent the weekend with my brother-in-laws at the lake.My brother-in-laws organized a surprise party for me.The brother-in-laws have a friendly rivalry every Thanksgiving.

Synonyms:

brothers-in-law

Antonyms:

sister-in-law

Brothers-in-law

/ˈbrʌðərz ɪn lɔː/

The husbands of one's siblings or the brothers of one's spouse.

Examples:

Sam shared his apartment with his two brothers-in-law.All four brothers-in-law gathered for the weekend reunion.They went on a vacation with her brothers-in-law last summer.

Synonyms:

This word has no synonyms

Antonyms:

sisters-in-law

Ways to tell them apart:

• Brother-in-laws seems intuitive like you're talking about all the brothers who are married into the family, but it is incorrect.
• Brothers-in-law correctly separates the plural brothers and keeps the noun law intact, adhering to standard English pluralization rules for compound nouns.
• Remember, the brothers are plural, not the in-law, so keep in-law unchanged when making it plural.
• Think of the phrase as brothers who are in-law to help remember the correct formulation.
• Single brother-in-law becomes brothers-in-law by keeping the relationship (in-law) intact.