big brother

noun

1. an elder brother.
2. (sometimes initial capital letters) a man who individually or as a member of an organized group undertakes to sponsor or assist a boy in need of help or guidance.
3. (usually initial capital letters) the head of a totalitarian regime that keeps its citizens under close surveillance.
4. (usually initial capital letters) the aggregate of officials and policy makers of a powerful and pervasive state.
5. Citizens Band Radio Slang. a police officer or police car.

Big Brother

noun

1. a person, organization, etc, that exercises total dictatorial control
2. a television gameshow format in which a small number of people living in accommodation sealed off from the outside world are constantly monitored by TV cameras. Viewers vote each week to expel a person from the group until there is only one person left, who wins a cash prize

Word History and Origins

Origin of big brother¹

1860–65; 1949 big brother fordefs 3, 4, the epithet of a dictator in G. Orwell's novel 1984

Word History and Origins

Origin of big brother¹

C20: after a character in George Orwell's novel 1984 (1949)

Example Sentences

The bar still retained its magnetic pull for celebrities though, hosting wrap parties for Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother and employing so-called "Sugar Hut Honeys" to pull the crowds in.

From BBC

“I failed them as a big brother, as a son and as a grandson,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

As its former colonies gained independence in the middle of the last century, Britain continued to play a sort of "big brother" role.

From BBC

Production company Banijay UK also apologised, saying informal concerns raised about the presenter while he hosted Big Brother spin-off programmes were "not properly escalated or adequately addressed".

From BBC

“And I know sometimes that's frustrating for a viewer like, why weren't they there? Because we're not ‘Big Brother.’

From Salon