brother

American  

[bruhth-er, bruhth-ur] / ˈbrʌð ər, ˈbrʌðˈɜr /

noun

brothers, plural brethren plural

1. a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; a male sibling.

2. Also called half brother.  a male offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.

3. a stepbrother.

4. a male numbered among the same kinship group, nationality, ethnicity, profession, etc., as another; an associate; a fellow member, fellow countryman, fellow man, etc..

   a fraternity brother.

5. Ecclesiastical.

   1. (often initial capital letter) a male numbered among the lay members of a religious organization that has a priesthood.

   2. a man who devotes himself to the duties of a religious order without taking holy orders, or while preparing for holy orders.

6. brothers, all members of a particular racial or ethnic group, or of the human race in general.

   All men are brothers.

7. Slang. fellow; buddy.

   Brother, can you spare a dime?

8. Informal. a term used to refer to or address a fellow Black man; soul brother.

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interjection

1. Slang. (used to express disappointment, disgust, or surprise.)

brother British  

/ ˈbrʌðə /

noun

1. a male person having the same parents as another person

2. short for half-brother stepbrother

3. 1. a male person belonging to the same group, profession, nationality, trade union, etc, as another or others; fellow member

   2. ( as modifier )

      brother workers

4. comrade; friend: used as a form of address

5. Christianity

   1. a member of a male religious order who undertakes work for the order without actually being in holy orders

   2. a lay member of a male religious order

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interjection

1. slang an exclamation of amazement, disgust, surprise, disappointment, etc

Synonym Usage

Brothers, brethren are plurals of brother. Brothers are kinsmen, sons of the same parents: My mother lives with my brothers. Brethren, now archaic in the foregoing sense, is used of male members of a congregation or of a fraternal organization: The brethren will meet at the church.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• brotherless
  adjective
• brotherlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• brethren
  plural
• brothers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of brother

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English brōthor; cognate with Dutch broeder, German Bruder, Old Norse brōthir, Gothic brothar, Sanskrit bhrātṛ, Greek phrā́tēr, Latin frāter, Old Irish bráthair, Old Church Slavonic bratrŭ

Example Sentences

Civil liberties campaigning group Big Brother Watch slammed the live facial recognition expansion as an "alarming escalation of an intrusive technology".

From Barron's • Jun. 24, 2026

He also credited the festival for bringing him in contact with Joplin, who then was the lead singer of the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026

The group, which includes the Index on Censorship and Big Brother Watch, is concerned that various forms of surveillance, as it considers this to be, limit rights to freedom of expression for children and adults.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026

After the show finished in 2010, Pratt went on to appear on other reality programmes, including Celebrity Big Brother and I'm a Celebrity...

From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026

If anyone had a right to be angry with him, it was Brother Ugo.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• relative
• twin