sister

American  

[sis-ter] / ˈsɪs tər /

noun

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

2. Also called half sister.  a female offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.

3. stepsister.

4. a female friend or protector regarded as a sister.

5. a thing regarded as feminine and associated as if by kinship with something else.

   The ships are sisters.

6. a female fellow member, as of a church.

7. a female member of a religious community that observes the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

8. British.  a nurse in charge of a hospital ward; head nurse.

9. Informal.  a term used to refer to or address a fellow Black woman; soul sister.

10. a woman who supports, promotes, or participates in feminism.

11. Informal.  a form of address used to a woman or girl, especially jocularly or contemptuously.

    Listen, sister, you've had enough.

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adjective

1. being or considered a sister; related by or as if by sisterhood.

   sister ships.

2. having a close relationship with another because of shared interests, problems, or the like.

   We correspond with school children in our sister city.

3. Biochemistry.  being one of an identical pair.

sister British  

/ ˈsɪstə /

noun

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

2. See half-sister stepsister

3. a female person who belongs to the same group, trade union, etc, as another or others

4. informal  a form of address to a woman or girl, used esp by Black people in the US

5. a senior nurse

6. RC Church a nun or a title given to a nun

7. a woman fellow member of a Church or religious body

8. (modifier) belonging to the same class, fleet, etc, as another or others

   a sister ship

9. (modifier) biology denoting any of the cells or cell components formed by division of a parent cell or cell component

   sister nuclei

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Other Word Forms

• nonsister noun
• sisterless adjective
• sisterlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of sister

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun) from Old Norse systir; cognate with Old English sweoster, Dutch zuster, German Schwester, Gothic swistar; akin to Serbo-Croatian sèstra, Lithuanian sesuõ, Latin soror (from unattested swesor ), Old Irish siur, Welsh chwaer, Sanskrit svasar “sister,” Greek éor “daughter, niece”

Example Sentences

“All of the sudden, it burst open and ten, maybe 15 cats jumped out, running all over the place, under the tables, under the sisters’ skirts.

From Salon

Ms Gawith was staying with her sister at the time of the fire after ending her and Mr Ali's relationship.

From BBC

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

His younger sister, Stella Morrow, 13, still feels awkward about grieving what is still tangible but out of reach.

From Los Angeles Times

It is the first time in 25 years the headliners at the sister festivals are exclusively British and Irish acts, organisers say.

From BBC

Related Words

• relative
• twin