brother
Americannoun
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brothers,
plural
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brethren
plural (Archaic)
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a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring; a male sibling.
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Also called half brother. a male offspring having only one parent in common with another offspring.
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a stepbrother.
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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.
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Ecclesiastical.
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(often initial capital letter) a male numbered among the lay members of a religious organization that has a priesthood.
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a man who devotes himself to the duties of a religious order without taking holy orders, or while preparing for holy orders.
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brothers, all members of a particular racial or ethnic group, or of the human race in general.
All men are brothers.
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Brother, can you spare a dime?
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Informal. a term used to refer to or address a fellow Black man; soul brother.
interjection
noun
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a male person having the same parents as another person
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short for half-brother stepbrother
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a male person belonging to the same group, profession, nationality, trade union, etc, as another or others; fellow member
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( as modifier )
brother workers
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comrade; friend: used as a form of address
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Christianity
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a member of a male religious order who undertakes work for the order without actually being in holy orders
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a lay member of a male religious order
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interjection
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of brother
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
Vocabulary lists containing brother
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:
Prakash Chhetri, 46, posted a picture of his brother on the hospital's front wall, clinging to the hope that he might still be alive.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
The brother of US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Kushner added he had "failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football".
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
"My brother died of Covid during the pandemic, and their kids are waiting at home for their mother. If I see her body, I can at least tell them she is not coming back."
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Tarling’s brother, Josh, started the Vuelta, finishing third in the opening stage, two slots behind Pogacar, before dropping out a few days later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Newspaper editors supportive of the spirits ran stories disparaging Chauncey and his brother as “itinerant, catch-penny lecturers,” “dunces” and “accomplished mountebanks.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
As they grew, these companies became far larger than the rest of their small and midsize brethren, so their continued gains gave an outsize boost to the indexes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Television genealogists may point out that Colbert’s branch of the talk show family tree is still represented by his Comedy Central brethren on “The Daily Show,” including Stewart, and John Oliver on “Last Week Tonight.”
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
The U.S. players have made it abundantly clear that they respect their Canadian brethren.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Our chickens, on the other hand, are treated abominably, packed in tightly with their germy brethren, raised in squalor, pumped with hormones, and only made clean at the end.
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2026
"How's that? Yell so our slow-to-anger brethren can hear you."
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
The company has said it now has a robust compliance program and that the brothers bring decades of operational experience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Protecting them also helps others, including baby brothers or sisters and grandparents.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
My brothers were particularly fond of one wooden ewe mounted on wheels, which gave her the jaunty appearance of a sheep who had recently discovered skateboarding.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
Furthermore, el-Shazly's has the same case file number as her two brothers, Hassan and Eid, who Rashid says face "substantially identical allegations".
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
That meant no friends, classmates, teachers, parents, brothers, or supermarket cashiers nearby or within earshot.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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.
