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:
"My mum lost the love of her life; my brother and I lost the greatest dad," she wrote.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Gyllenhaal, from a well-connected Hollywood family that includes actor brother Jake, also stressed how AI companies were seeking to license the images of actors in order to reproduce them in digital form.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
In May, Smith and his brother Whit Smith decided to list their 46-acre property, which they own jointly, for $16 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
There’s his younger brother, Jake, a sophomore middle linebacker and his catcher since birth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The pile rustled and birthed another rat, smaller but with the same snowy fur and red eyes as her brother.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
He remembered what it was like to see rows of empty seats, and he didn’t want to do that to his brethren.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 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
Although many crashed or collided with robot brethren, Lightning avoided a serious mishap and crossed the finish line in 50 minutes, 26 seconds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 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
Their brethren from the cafe were running up to join them.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
Judge Jose Dias Toffoli was removed from Banco Master proceedings when it emerged that Vorcaro's brother-in-law had purchased part of a resort in 2021 from the judge's brothers.
From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026
The two victims, who are brothers, were struck but survived.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The pledges had to name all of their fraternity brothers; most faltered quickly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
"The majority of Kenyans are decent and good people who welcome their brothers and sisters from Burundi," he said at the time, adding that most Kenyans had rejected the hostility directed at the trader.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
My mother rides our donkey, and my brothers, Isaac and Jacob, carry our provisions—bread and cheese, eggplant empanadillas, roasted eggs, olives cured in salt, dried figs, almonds, and walnuts—and our few belongings.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
