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

Sawyer and Sullivan became big brothers when their parents welcomed younger sister Maysa. —Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025

Barry Watson, who played big brother Matt Camden on The CW’s 7th Heaven, has joined Bad Survivor as an executive producer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025

In one of the scenes, Kevin takes advantage of being alone in the house and starts rummaging through his big brother Buzz's belongings. —Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 16 Nov. 2025

Rocky and RiRi welcomed Rocki into the world in September, as their daughter joins big brothers RZA and Riot. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 Nov. 2025

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