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

Baek Ki-hyeon aspired to walk a path of virtue and provide for their sister through honest means — but his calculating spymaster big brother was never going to let them out of his grasp. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 24 Sep. 2026

Four days prior, Kaia said her big brother made time to watch her on Ryan Murphy’s new thriller, The Shards. — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026

Then watch Harold’s brothers reminisce about their childhood and remember their caring big brother. — Dateline Nbc, NBC news, 23 Sep. 2026

Cruise was in town to talk with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his big brother, Jason, the ESPN analyst and former Eagles center. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 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