brothers

noun

variants also brethren
plural of brother
1
as in sisters
a male connected with another person by a common parent When was the last time you called your brother?

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in monks
a member of a religious community of men He was loved and respected among his brothers at the monastery.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
3
as in friends
a man with whom one feels a sense of solidarity As veterans, we support our brothers and sisters in the military.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brothers During the switchover to the new system, the MacLeod brothers worked from substations in different communities along the coast while Varvarikos coordinated from Fort Albany. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026 Duke delivers a crushing sequence of blows to claim the championship belt, and both brothers’ dreams come true at once. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 July 2026 One of the largest the brothers have cast was for Romania’s National Cathedral in Bucharest. — Philipp Jenne, Fortune, 30 July 2026 Latin Mafia includes Milton and his brothers Emilio and Mike, so this project has been a family affair. — Lucas Villa, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2026 The brothers were hiking in a party of five, according to the sheriff's office. — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 29 July 2026 She was also photographed looking out at the picturesque mountains with one of her brothers. — Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 29 July 2026 Among the most famous of these was Chess Records, owned by Polish immigrant brothers Phil and Leonard Chess, who bought the Aristocrat Record Company on the South Side and renamed it in 1950. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026 Handler is the youngest of six siblings, two older sisters, Shoshanna and Simone, and three older brothers, Chet, Glen and Roy. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brothers
  1. sisters
  2. monks
  3. friends
  4. cousins
  5. comrades
  6. siblings
  7. partners
Noun
  • Our relationships with men as wives, sisters, daughters, is complicated.
    — Brent Lang, Variety, 21 July 2026
  • Survivors include his daughter, Kami; his son, Matt; his grandsons, Chase and Wyatt; and his sisters, Carole and Colleen.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 21 July 2026
Definition of sisters
Noun
  • Two monks sustained serious injuries, and one monk lost part of his leg as a result of the crash.
    — Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of monks
Noun
  • Tuesday’s story will cover making friends, and Wednesday’s story will focus on parent concerns about your school’s decisions.
    — Kara Alaimo, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
  • No, friends and filmmakers who have come to visit me over the years, and also people who have inquired about the project.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of friends
Noun
  • Knappman, who lives in California, coordinated with his sister in Louisiana and a pair of cousins from Maine and North Carolina to purchase a new headstone engraved with Horan’s name and the dates of her birth and death.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2026
  • Scientists have long proposed that modern Homo sapiens outcompeted their robust cousins through sheer intelligence.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 20 July 2026
Definition of cousins
Noun
  • The broadcaster went on to shout out a couple of his fallen comrades.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 22 July 2026
  • Soon, countless comrades would follow, heading for Mexico, New York, Martinique, and other locales.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of comrades
Noun
  • The March 2025 law introduced a two-generation limit, cutting out his siblings.
    — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The siblings-in-law addressed comments from Alli McBee suggesting their relationship had been inappropriate.
    — Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of siblings
Noun
  • Its consumer-facing partners include Regent Seven Seas Cruises, luxury home-rental platform Plum Guide, chauffeur service Blacklane and restaurant operator The Wolseley Hospitality Group.
    — Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The full cast of celebrities and their pro dancing partners is expected to be unveiled on Good Morning America September 2.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of partners

Browse Nearby Words

brotherly
brothers
brougham
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brothers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brothers. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on brothers

Nglish: Translation of brothers for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of élan

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All