brother

Pluralbrothers

Formsbrothers, brothering, brothered

1. 1
   male siblingnouncountable

   A male who has at least one parent in common with another person.

   My older brother taught me how to ride a bike when I was six.

   They are brothers who have the same mother but different fathers.

   UsageSay older or younger brother; big and little brother are more casual. A brother by one parent is a half-brother.

2. 2
   close allynouncountable

   A fellow person, usually a man, linked to another by a shared cause, experience, group or close friendship.

   Years of shared struggle made them brothers in spirit.

   She found a brother in the volunteer who worked beside her every night.

   Similarcomrade, companion, ally, friend

   Note

   This sense rests on solidarity rather than blood or color. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of "many of our white brothers," a usage that reaches past the in-group black sense to allies in a cause. The bond can be a shared struggle, a shared plight or plain affection. It can even reach across faiths, as when a 2020 opinion piece by an Orthodox Jew speaks of "our Muslim brothers and sisters." Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • Martin Luther King Jr. said "many of our white brothers" in 1963. hrlibrary.umn.edu
   • William Burkholder wrote "my brothers of wind-blown rye." en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   nouncountable

   A male fellow member of a religious community, church, labor union, or similar body.

   Each brother in the order takes a vow of silence.

   His fellow union brothers stood with him at the meeting.

   UsageAs a title before a name it takes a capital: Brother Thomas.

   Similarcomrade

   Note

   In congregations and union halls the word works as a title as well as a noun. Members say "Thank you, brother" or "the brother who just spoke" to acknowledge a fellow member, not a sibling. The New King James Version (1982) uses it the same way in Deuteronomy 23:19: "your brother" there is anyone within the community, to whom no interest may be charged. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • The complete New King James Version was first published in 1982. en.wikipedia.org
   • Deuteronomy 23:19 in the NKJV says "your brother" and prohibits charging that person interest. biblegateway.com
   • The brother in this verse means a fellow member of the Israelite community, rather than only a sibling. biblegateway.com
4. 4
   addressing a mannouncolloquialcountable

   An informal way of addressing a man.

   Take it easy, brother, there's no rush.

   What's the plan, brother?

   Similarman, buddy, pal, mate, dude

5. 5
   nouncountablefigurative

   Something closely akin to another thing of its type, for example a smaller or larger model in the same product line.

   The compact hatchback shares its engine and most of its parts with its larger brother, but it costs thousands less.

   The compact sedan borrows its engine from its bigger brother in the lineup.

   Similarsibling

   Note

   Sister does similar work in fixed compounds such as sister ship and sister company.

6. 6
   nounliterarycountable

   A male kinsman, or one descended from the same forefather.

   He embraced the stranger as a brother sprung from the same forefather.

   Though the clans had feuded for generations, the old chief reminded them that they were brothers, all descended from one founder.

   Similarkinsman, relative

   Note

   An elevated, poetic way of speaking about kinship by descent: brothers of one clan, one tribe, one first father. Grace Kellogg's "A Keeper of the Door" (1908) includes the address "Oh, my Brothers." Theophus H. Smith (1994) writes of the "cocreated brothers of Adam," the widest lineage of all. In ordinary prose the sense reads as solemn or oratorical. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Grace Kellogg wrote “A Keeper of the Door,” published in 1908. en.wiktionary.org
   • Conjuring Culture was published in 1994. religion.emory.edu
   • Smith uses the wording “cocreated brothers of Adam” when discussing universal human brotherhood. en.wiktionary.org

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