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

The black-and-white photo shows Harper in a pool with her arms hanging around big brother Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, 26, as her brothers Romeo, 23, and Cruz, 20, stand behind them. —Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 16 Feb. 2026

Tim was a fiercely, cheerfully competitive kid—whether playing board games with his two older sisters or every sport under the sun with his big brothers. —Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 8 Feb. 2026

Georgie & Mandy, of course, now tells big brother Georgie's story. —Sydney Bucksbaum, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Feb. 2026

Last June, Paris and his big brother Dylan, 28, made their big-screen debut in their dad's Western, The Holy Trinity. —Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 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