big brother

noun

1

: an older brother

2

: a man who serves as a companion, father figure, and role model for a boy

3

Big Brother [Big Brother, personification of the power of the state in 1984 (1949) by George Orwell]

a

: the leader of an authoritarian state or movement

b

: an all-powerful government or organization monitoring and directing people's actions

Examples of big brother in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Four-year-old Amari Abney and his big brother Aerius were at Friday's ribbon-cutting. —Ross Guidotti, CBS News, 19 June 2026

Daisy Otis became a big brother with the arrival of little sister Daisy in October 2016. —Emma Banks, InStyle, 18 June 2026

Scout, the older of the two, plays the role of big brother, while Montana is the more adventurous and playful one, with Scout keeping him in check, according to the representative. —Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026

The big brother of the Z fc, the Nikon Z f has the same retro look, with a full-frame sensor upgrade. —Paul Brett, Space.com, 16 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for big brother

• another
• godmother
• grandmother
• stepbrother
• stepmother
• mother
• nother
• other
• smother
• souther