# Big Brother

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Unwarranted, invasive, and discreet surveillance, especially of a people by its government.
2. Any omnipresent authority or figurehead representing oppressive control.

## Etymology
After the nominal leader of Oceania in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/big-brother