brother
/ˈbɹʌðɚ/noun, verb, interjection
brother is spelled B-R-O-T-H-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 129 times per million words in written English, the 810th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, brother means “Son of the same parents as another person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of brother is brothers; Wiktionary also lists brethren (archaic).
How many letters and syllables are in brother?
| Letters | 7: B-R-O-T-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 129 times per million words; the 810th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is brother?
Brother appears 129 times per million words in written English, the 810th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce brother?
- UK /ˈbɹʌðə/
- US /ˈbɹʌðɚ/
- Australia /ˈbɹɐðə/
Brother has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-brother.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-brother.wav, En-us-brother.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with brother?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as brother from its last stressed vowel (/ʌðəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of brother
- brothers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- brotha
- brudda
- brothah
- brothuh
- bruvver
- brothering participle, present
- brothered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brother mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Son of the same parents as another person.
- 2
A male having at least one parent in common with another person (see half-brother, stepbrother).
- 3
A male fellow member of a religious community, church, trades union etc.
You shall not charge interest to your brother–interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.
- 4
informalA form of address to a man.
Brother, can you spare a dime?
- 5
A fellow black man.
- 6
Somebody, usually male, connected by a common cause, situation, or affection.
- 7
Someone who is a peer, whether male or female.
- 8
Someone who is a kinsman or shares the same patriarch.
verb
- 1
To treat as a brother.
interjection
- 1
Expressing exasperation.
We're being forced to work overtime? Oh, brother!
noun
- 1
Title of respect for an adult male member of a religious or fraternal order.
At the monastery, Brother Stephen supervises the kitchen.
- 2
Title of respect for an adult male member of a fraternal/sororal organization, or comrade in a movement, or even a stranger using fictive kin.
- 3
A title used to personify or respectfully refer to concepts or animals.
The Native American had a kinship with nature, even referring to Mother Earth and Brother Bear.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate brother?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of brother: br'er, bro..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brother in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | frère , pair, semblable , fraterniser |
| German | Bruder, Brüeder, bruada , verbrüdern |
| Portuguese | irmão , frade |
| Spanish | hermano |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does brother come from?
Inherited from Middle English brother, broþer, from Old English brōþor, brōðer, from Proto-West Germanic *brōþer, from Proto-Germanic *brōþēr (“brother”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr (“brother”). Doublet of bhai, bru, frater, friar, pal, and vai.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).