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

Instead, the Yankees of yesteryear would have thrown money at him while the Mets shopped in the bargain bins, always living in the shadows of big brother in the Bronx. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 9 Dec. 2024

And so, the Louvre-Lens was born, with temporary exhibition galleries and its emblematic Galerie du Temps (Gallery of Time), a 32,000 square-foot open space reserved for some 200 loans from its Parisian big brother. —Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 5 Dec. 2024

Carter joins his big brother Lincoln, whom Schneider and Harrison welcomed in 2020. —Hannah Sacks, People.com, 2 Dec. 2024

On Monday, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh fell to 0-3 against his big brother, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh. —Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined at sense 1