brother

American  

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

noun

PLURAL

brothers

PLURAL

brethren

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

Related Words

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

• brotherless adjective
• brotherlike adjective

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

Prices have almost doubled so far this year in what would be the best performance since 1979, when prices more than quintupled amid the historic attempt by the Hunt brothers to corner the silver market.

From Barron's

My brother wants to sell his home to my sister, because his health has been in a sharp decline and he can’t afford maintenance and many of his bills.

From MarketWatch

Sherr had been given a Martin acoustic guitar at 16 by her brother.

From Los Angeles Times

She had travelled here with her younger sister and brother.

From BBC

My brother had his bar mitzvah at the mountaintop fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea.

From Salon

Related Words

• relative
• twin