big brother
|
noun
an elder brother.
(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.
(usually initial capital letters) the head of a totalitarian regime that keeps its citizens under close surveillance.
(usually initial capital letters) the aggregate of officials and policy makers of a powerful and pervasive state.
Citizens Band Radio Slang. a police officer or police car.
Origin of big brother
1860–65; 1949 for defs 3, 4, the epithet of a dictator in G. Orwell's novel 1984
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for big brother
authoritarian, despot, dictator, oppressor, strongman, totalitarian, tyrantExamples from the Web for big brother
Historical Examples of big brother
"And he's got a bully girl, too, now that she's got down to brass tacks," said Alec in big-brother style.
The Fifth WheelOlive Higgins Prouty
Big Brother
noun
Word Origin for Big Brother
C20: after a character in George Orwell's novel 1984 (1949)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Big Brother
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper