I. broth ‧ er 1 S1 W1 /ˈbrʌðə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ brother , ↑ brotherhood ; adjective : ↑ brotherly ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: brothor ]
1 . a male who has the same parents as you ⇨ sister :
I have two brothers, William and Mark.
elder/older/younger etc brother
My younger brother is a doctor.
little/kid brother (=younger brother)
I have to take my little brother to school.
My big brother (=older brother) has always looked after me.
my twin brother
2 . spoken informal a word meaning a black man, used especially by other black men
3 . a male member of a group with the same interests, religion, profession etc as you
4 . ( plural brothers or brethren ) a male member of a religious group, especially a ↑ monk :
Brother Justin
5 . American English a member of a ↑ fraternity (=a club of male university students)
6 . brothers in arms literary soldiers who have fought together in a war
⇨ ↑ Big Brother , ↑ blood brother , HALF BROTHER , ↑ stepbrother
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + brother
▪ an older/elder brother
I have two older brothers.
▪ a big brother (=older brother - used especially by or to children)
Jake was my big brother and I admired him.
▪ a younger brother
Do you have any younger brothers?
▪ a little brother ( also a kid brother American English ) (=younger brother)
My kid brother was always annoying me.
▪ a baby brother (=brother who is still a baby)
Mum let me hold my new baby brother.
▪ a twin brother
Luke and his twin brother Sam went everywhere together.
▪ a half-brother (=brother with only one parent the same as yours)
I never really liked my half-brother.
▪ a step-brother (=the son of your stepfather or stepmother)
His dad’s new wife brought him two step-brothers.
II. brother 2 BrE AmE interjection especially American English
used to show you are annoyed or surprised:
Oh, brother – I really don’t want to deal with this now.