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.
Big brother poked his head in Ryan’s Toyota as he pulled it into victory lane.
From Seattle Times • May 1, 2023
Big brother Spencer has become wealthy through accidental art-world fame, while Freddie is twice-divorced and forced to move back in across the hall with his mother after his tech startup fails.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2021
Big brother Peyton is 25-of-41 for 276 yards and a touchdown and the Colts score on five of their first seven possessions to defeat Eli and the Giants 26-21.
From Washington Times • Sep. 6, 2019
Big brother strikes back; the Wolverines haven't been favored by this much against the Spartans since 1992 ...
From US News • Oct. 26, 2016
Big brother, I am writing this for our mother and father just as they have said it to me.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
