big brother

noun

1. an elder brother.

2. (sometimes initial capital letters),  a man who individually or as a member of an organized group undertakes to sponsor or assist a boy in need of help or guidance.

3. (usually initial capital letters),  the head of a totalitarian regime that keeps its citizens under close surveillance.

4. (usually initial capital letters),  the aggregate of officials and policy makers of a powerful and pervasive state.

5. Citizens Band Radio Slang.,  a police officer or police car.

Big Brother

noun

1. a person, organization, etc, that exercises total dictatorial control

2. a television gameshow format in which a small number of people living in accommodation sealed off from the outside world are constantly monitored by TV cameras. Viewers vote each week to expel a person from the group until there is only one person left, who wins a cash prize

Word History and Origins

Origin of big brother¹

1860–65; 1949 big brother for defs. 3, 4, the epithet of a dictator in G. Orwell's novel 1984

Word History and Origins

Origin of big brother¹

C20: after a character in George Orwell's novel 1984 (1949)

When To Use

What does Big Brother mean?

A big brother can be an older male, related or not, who protects a younger person.Big Brother (usually uppercase) also refers to an omnipresent, usually governmental authority that monitors everyone's every move.How is Big Brother pronounced?[ big bruhth-er ]