brother

[ bruhth-er bruhth-ur ]

noun

, plural brothers, (Archaic) brethren.

1. a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; a male sibling.
2. Also called half brother. a male offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.
3. a stepbrother.
4. a male numbered among the same kinship group, nationality, ethnicity, profession, etc., as another; an associate; a fellow member, fellow countryman, fellow man, etc.:

   a fraternity brother.

5. Ecclesiastical.
   1. (often initial capital letter) a male numbered among the lay members of a religious organization that has a priesthood.
   2. a man who devotes himself to the duties of a religious order without taking holy orders, or while preparing for holy orders.
6. brothers, all members of a particular racial or ethnic group, or of the human race in general:

   All men are brothers.

7. Slang. fellow; buddy:

   Brother, can you spare a dime?

8. Informal. a term used to refer to or address a fellow Black man; soul brother.

interjection

1. Slang. (used to express disappointment, disgust, or surprise.)

brother

/ ˈbrʌðə /

noun

1. a male person having the same parents as another person
2. short for half-brother stepbrother
3. 1. a male person belonging to the same group, profession, nationality, trade union, etc, as another or others; fellow member
   2. ( as modifier )

      brother workers

4. comrade; friend: used as a form of address
5. Christianity fraternal
   1. a member of a male religious order who undertakes work for the order without actually being in holy orders
   2. a lay member of a male religious order

interjection

1. slang.
   an exclamation of amazement, disgust, surprise, disappointment, etc

Other Words From

• brother·less adjective
• brother·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of brother¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English brōthor; cognate with Dutch broeder, German Bruder, Old Norse brōthir, Gothic brothar, Sanskrit bhrātṛ, Greek phrā́tēr, Latin frāter, Old Irish bráthair, Old Church Slavonic bratrŭ

Word History and Origins

Origin of brother¹

Old English brōthor ; related to Old Norse brōthir , Old High German bruoder , Latin frāter , Greek phratēr , Sanskrit bhrātar

Synonym Study

Brothers, brethren are plurals of brother. Brothers are kinsmen, sons of the same parents: My mother lives with my brothers. Brethren, now archaic in the foregoing sense, is used of male members of a congregation or of a fraternal organization: The brethren will meet at the church.

Example Sentences

These are the fathers, husbands, sons and brothers of the communities that these elected leaders are claiming to save.

From Voice of San Diego

The third generation owner of Shenanigans has had both her father and brother die of the virus.

From Ozy

Right before Beethoven composed the Fifth Symphony, he wrote to his brothers that his oncoming deafness had “brought me to the verge of despair.”

From Vox

A hospice nurse checked in on Johnson the first two days she was home, said Lavalais and his brother, Michael.

From ProPublica

Tuesday passed, and just as I was beginning to accept that the meeting wouldn’t happen, I got a text from Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft’s CEO and one of the founding brothers of the company, telling me when and where to meet him tomorrow.

From Fortune

I did love him like a big brother, and miss him all the time.

From The Daily Beast

He knew I loved him like a big brother, and I knew the feeling was mutual.

From The Daily Beast

The brother of a girl who made her debut in New Orleans society was shaking his fists in excitement.

From The Daily Beast

Among the other graduates was Officer Kevin Lynch, brother and son of police officers.

From The Daily Beast

A 2008 Pakistani raid near Turbat turned up Abdolhamid Rigi, the brother of Abdelmalek Rigi.

From The Daily Beast

After her marriage to Eugène Manet she came under the influence of his famous brother, Édouard.

From Project Gutenberg

Again, she was present at the battle of Silan, where her heroic example of courage infused new life into her brother rebels.

From Project Gutenberg

Father, mother, sister, and brother all played and worked together with rare combination of sympathetic gifts.

From Project Gutenberg

Victor was the younger son and brother—a tete montee, with a temper which invited violence and a will which no ax could break.

From Project Gutenberg

It was father against son, brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• relative
• twin