stepbrother
Americannoun
-
stepbrothers
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of stepbrother
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at step-, brother
Compare meaning
How does stepbrother compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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:
In May, the rapper's stepbrother Maurice Shakur filed a wrongful death lawsuit in civil court.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
“I was so excited to go. We told his stepbrother, who lives there, so he had cleared his schedule. I had to tell him that we can’t go anymore. We still haven’t gone.”
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
The suspected shooter's mother, 39-year-old Jennifer Jacobs, who was also known as Jennifer Strang, and stepbrother, 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs were also killed, police confirmed.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
“Law enforcement hasn’t cared for a long time,” Mopreme Shakur, Tupac Shakur’s stepbrother, told The Associated Press over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 4, 2023
Roy got a queasy feeling that something bad must have happened to Beatrice’s stepbrother, the running boy.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Josh Peck and Bell, the show's titular characters who portrayed two teenage stepbrothers, worked together across the span of four seasons from 2004 to 2007.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2024
After Lalani was seriously injured in a car accident in which one of her stepbrothers died, she went to live with her stepmother.
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
Survivors include a son from his first marriage, William Jr.; two stepbrothers; two stepsisters; and three grandchildren.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2022
Both of the stepbrothers are also from Louisville.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2021
It wasn’t just Auntie An-mei’s little brother, but also his wife’s stepbrothers and stepsisters, and a distant cousin, and that cousin’s husband and that husband’s uncle.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
