Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - brother

(brothers) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: The old-fashioned form 'brethren' is still sometimes used as the plural for meanings 2 and 3. 1. Your brother is a boy or a man who has the same parents as you. Oh, so you’re Peter’s younger brother... Have you got any brothers and sisters? N-COUNT: oft poss N see also half-brother, stepbrother 2. You can describe a man as your brother if he belongs to the same race, religion, country, profession, or trade union as you, or if he has similar ideas to you. He told reporters he’d come to be with his Latvian brothers. N-COUNT: usu poss N 3. Brother is a title given to a man who belongs to a religious community such as a monastery. ...Brother Otto. ...the Christian Brothers community which owns the castle. N-TITLE; N-COUNT; N-VOC 4. Brothers is used in the names of some companies and shops. ...the film company Warner Brothers... N-IN-NAMES