brother
/ˈbrʌðə
/noun
1A man or boy in relation to other sons and daughters of his parents: he recognized her from her strong resemblance to her brother...
- To Tara's parents, brothers and sisters, relations and friends we offer our deepest sympathies and wish upon her the light of Heaven.
- She is mourned by her son, daughters, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law relatives and friends.
- Children are encouraged to attend with parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and pets to direct their own family portrait.
Synonyms
male sibling
informal bro
British informal bruvver, bruv
1.1A male associate or fellow member of an organization: the time is coming, brothers, for us to act...
- Others were from rugby teammates, fraternity brothers, business associates, and boyfriends.
- I would like to remind my fellow brothers and sisters in the ANC that their primary objective should be service delivery and the eradication of poverty.
- I now know that my fellow brothers and sisters, the lawyers of New Zealand, will be in a position to practise in front of the highest court of our country.
Synonyms
colleague, associate, companion, partner, comrade, comrade-in-arms, co-worker, fellow, friend;
French confrère
informal pal, chum
British informal mate, bruvver, bruv
North American informal bro
archaic compeer
1.2 (also brotha or brutha) North American informal A black man (often used as a term of address by other black people): there I was with one white boy and this other brother...
- Almost overnight, brothers shifted from Black Power chic to gangster buffoon.
- I'm only picking on the brothers who wear the bling because of hip-hop's wide-reaching and conspicuous influence.
- We didn't connect like the brothers would here.
1.3A thing which resembles or is connected to another thing: the machine is almost identical to its larger brother...
- She dropped the tray among its fellow brethren and shook her hands, wondering how to get rid of the grease clinging to her skin.
2 (plural also brethren /ˈbrɛðrɪn/) Christian Church A (male) fellow Christian.My desire is that Protestants would see me as a friend and a brother in Christ....
- Brothers in Christ means white brothers in Christ in many cases.
- But I ask you as a brother in Christ to cease attacking my character and my mental stability.
2.1A member of a religious order of men: a Benedictine brother...
- He had become a brother in the Carmelite order right after he had gotten out of high school.
- The order also has 400 brothers and about 1,000 lay members.
- The other prison, the Curragh, in Co Kildare, takes offenders who are priests and religious brothers.
Synonyms
monk, cleric, friar, religious, regular, monastic, contemplative
2.2A member of a fundamentalist Protestant denomination: the Plymouth Brethren
exclamation chiefly North American
Used to express annoyance or surprise: oh brother!...
- Oh brother what a super bowl!!!
- Oh brother, what a day for brilliant Ireland.
- Oh brother, what a meeting of the minds this is gonna be.
Phrases
be one's brother's keeper
brothers in arms
Derivatives
brotherless
Origin
Old English brōthor, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch broeder and German Bruder, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin frater.
Rhymes
- grass
- grassbird
- grassbox
- grass carp
- grass castle
- grass catcher
- grasscloth
- grass court
- grass-covered
- grass cuttings
- grasscycling
- Grasse
- grass fighter
- grass green
- Grass, Günter
- grasshopper
- grasshopper escapement
- grasshopper mouse
- grasshopper warbler
- grassiness
- grassland
- grassless
- grass-like
- grass of Parnassus
- grass parakeet