big brother
noun
an elder brother.
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big brother
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Big Brother
Big Brothernouna person, organization, etc, that exercises total dictatorial control
big brother
Americannoun
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an elder brother.
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(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.
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(usually initial capital letters) the head of a totalitarian regime that keeps its citizens under close surveillance.
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(usually initial capital letters) the aggregate of officials and policy makers of a powerful and pervasive state.
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Citizens Band Radio Slang. a police officer or police car.
Big Brother
British
noun
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a person, organization, etc, that exercises total dictatorial control
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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
Usage
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 ]
Etymology
Origin of big brother
1860–65; 1949 big brother for defs. 3, 4, the epithet of a dictator in G. Orwell's novel 1984
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Patricia McLure, one of Anthony Littler's few surviving close relatives, holds a photograph of the cousin who was "like a big brother"
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
"I remember being that guy he came and had chats with. I was almost like a big brother," Wells told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
“I hope I’m not annoying him,” Simpson said, “but I really appreciate the big brother kind of role he’s playing in my development.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
At other times, Jeremy is sweet and docile, playing the big brother role with no difficulty.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
And then his big brother asked him if he believed there was really a Tooth Fairy, and when he said no, the brother said he should return the money.
From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee
Her Strictly appearance was however to turn her into a reality TV star, when she joined such shows as "Celebrity Big Brother".
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
She also appeared on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and was a runner-up on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
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
Big Brother added a few remarks on the purity and singlemindedness of Comrade Ogilvy’s life.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
