DictionaryAI

brother

BRUTH-ur/ˈbɹʌðɚ/BRUTH-uh/ˈbɹʌðə/

Pluralbrothers

9 meanings of brother

Practice

  1. 1
    male siblingnouncountable
    A boy or man who shares at least one parent with you.

    I have two sisters and one brother.

    Sam and Leo have different dads, but they are still brothers.

    UsageSay older brother or younger brother.

  2. 2
    close allynouncountable
    A person, usually a man, you feel close to because you share a cause, an experience or a group.

    The two men became brothers after surviving the flood together.

    He calls his closest teammate his brother.

    Similarcomrade, companion, ally, friend

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    A man who belongs to the same church, religious group, or union as you.

    A new brother joined the monastery this year.

    The union brothers voted to go on strike.

    UsageAs a title, write Brother with a capital: Brother Thomas.

    Similarcomrade

    Note
  4. 4
    addressing a mannouncolloquialcountable
    An informal word used to speak to a man directly, as in 'Thanks, brother.'

    Hey brother, can you give me a hand?

    Thanks a lot, brother.

    Similarman, buddy, pal, mate, dude

  5. 5
    nouncountablefigurative
    Something very close to another thing of the same kind, like a smaller or bigger model of a product.

    The mini tablet is the little brother of the full-size model.

    This small blender is the little brother of our best-selling model.

    Similarsibling

    Note
  6. 6
    nounliterarycountable
    A male relative, or a man from the same family line.

    Every man in our clan is my brother, since we share one ancestor.

    The clan's old songs call all of its men brothers, sons of one first father.

    Similarkinsman, relative

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 7
    interjection
    A word you say when you feel annoyed or fed up.

    Oh brother, not this again!

    Oh, brother! It's raining on my day off again.

    UsagePeople say Oh, brother! when something annoying happens.

    Similarboy, man, jeez

    Note
  2. 8
    fellow black mannouncolloquialUScountable
    A black man who is seen as part of the same community as you.

    He was the only Black man at work until another brother was hired.

    As a Black dad, he loves talking with other brothers about raising kids.

    Note
  3. 9
    verbraretransitive
    To treat someone like your own brother.
    Seest thou not we are overreached, and that our proposed mode of communicating with our friends without has been disconcerted by this same motley gentleman thou art so fond to brother?
    1819, Walter Scott, IvanhoeHere, brother means to treat someone like a brother.

    Similarbefriend

    Note

Practice

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Origin

"Brother" comes from Old English brōþor, which goes all the way back to a very old root word in Proto-Indo-European.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts