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:
Of course, if Bailen ever drops a pass, big brother might give him a nasty look.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
“I’ve seen him grow up; he’s seen me grow up. He’s my big brother in everything I do creatively and also in real life,” Stillz says about his bond with Bad Bunny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
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
At other times, Jeremy is sweet and docile, playing the big brother role with no difficulty.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
But they always wanted to know what treasures their big brother had found, crowding around him to see his trophies when he came back through the garden gate.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Otherwise you may find yourself in an empty parking lot, staring at where your Honda Accord used to be and wishing you hadn’t been so worried about Big Brother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Data-center wars, workplace AI fatigue, legal reckoning for social media…oh, and Big Brother is watching you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
He has also appeared on reality TV shows including Celebrity Rap Superstar and Celebrity Big Brother.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
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
Agents and informers continued to spy on the Fischers, and the idea that Big Brother could always be watching haunted Regina.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
