Dictionary

bro en · NOUN

Pronunciation

[ˈbɹʷɐ̝ʉ̯] (Australia)
[ˈbɹʷoː] monophthongization
[ˈbɹʷəʊ̯] (Received-Pronunciation)
[ˈbɹʷoʊ̯] (Canadian, General-American, Standard)
/ˈbɹɐʉ̯/ (Australia)
[ˈbɹʷɔ̝ʊ̯] (Canadian, General-American, Standard)
/ˈbɹɔʊ̯/ (Canadian, General-American, Standard)
/ˈbɹɵʊ̯/ (Received-Pronunciation)
[ˈbɹʷɵʊ̯] (Received-Pronunciation)
[ˈbɹʷəʉ̯] (Australia)
/ˈbɹoʊ̯/ (Canadian, General-American, Standard)
audio
/ˈbɹoː/ monophthongization
/ˈbɹəʉ̯/ (Australia)
/ˈbɹəʊ̯/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

PIE word *bʰréh₂tēr Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₂tēr Proto-Germanic *brōþēr Proto-West Germanic *brōþer Old English brōþor Middle English brother English brotherclip. English bro Spelling pronunciation and clipping of brother. (Contrast bruh, which is a clipping of the pronunciation of brother rather than the spelling.) Compare Swedish bror.

Meanings

(slang) Brother (a male sibling).
- My mom took my lil' bro to soccer practice now and she wanted me to pick him up.
(slang) Brother (a comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals).
- Her breakout was the 2017 production “Nate” (available as a Netflix special) in which she played a toxic, handsy bro who drove a motorcycle onstage, guzzling beers, groping audience members and creating chaos. 2025 October 7, Jason Zinoman, “What Clowns! (That’s a Compliment)”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Oct 2025:
- Let’s not kid ourselves – there are plenty of men saying that Will has been emasculated by Jada, because hurr durr why would he hit a bro over a woman. 2022 May 4, “A$AP Rocky: Will Smith 'emasculated' Chris Rock but 'it's more than just a GI Jane joke'”, in Cele|bitchy, archived from the original on 08 Feb 2025:
- Bro, you good? You've been lookin' kinda out of it lately.
(slang) Brother, my man, good sir; a friendly term of address for typically men.
- Bro said he finna go off today!
- don't tase me, bro
- Hey bro, sorry to bother you but I think I accidentally backed up into your car — can I make it up to you?
- Near-synonym: man
(slang) A frat boy or someone who espouses the fraternity bro culture.
(derogatory, in-compounds, slang, usually) Someone, usually male, who aggressively evangelizes a person, concept or technology.
- One of these cars has 707 horsepower, performs amazingly well on a drag strip, and is popular among performance car bros. The other car is about to easily win a drag race. 2022 September 14, Brian Culp, Electric Cars For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 11:
- AI bro
- He'd seen that false equivalency coming from AI bros time and time again, but hearing it from an AI itself was especially irritating. 2024 May 23, ego_bot, There's Something Weird Going On: Ten Stories of Existentialist Science Fiction, ego_bot, →ISBN:
- Pfeiffer's partners at Pod Save America — the audio outpost of the resistance that had made a collection of Obama Bros niche superstars, had invested as producers in a documentary about the Senate run. 2021 May 25, Edward-Isaac Dovere, Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaigns to Defeat Trump, Penguin, →ISBN, page 152:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
bra		alternative	lexicographic
brah		alternative	lexicographic
vro		alternative	lexicographic
bros	Number=Plur		lexicographic
bru		alternative	lexicographic
xro		alternative	lexicographic

Translations (80)

ru брато́к (used to address a male) · id bung (used to address a male) · yi חבֿר (used to address a male) · pl brach (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · az qaqaş (used to address a male) · pt mano (used to address a male) · el αδερφάκι (used to address a male) · el καρντάσι (used to address a male) · fi jätkä (used to address a male) · fi jäbä (used to address a male) · eo fraĉjo (diminutive of brother) · ru брата́н (used to address a male) · ja ブラザー (used to address a male) · ja 兄ちゃん (diminutive of brother) · es broder (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · tr kanka (used to address a male) · fr frérot (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · eo samideano (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · es colega (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ru бра́тец (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ta மச்சான் (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · sh brat (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · az qaqa (used to address a male) · eo kamarado (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fi veikka (diminutive of brother) · fa حاجی (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ru брато́к (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ja 兄弟 (used to address a male) · yi חבֿר (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fi aatetoveri (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · el μπρο (used to address a male) · yi גוטער־⁠ברודער (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fi veli (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ca soci (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · es mano (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ca soci (used to address a male) · ru брати́шка (used to address a male) · el σύντροφος (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · eo ulo (used to address a male) · hu tesó (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fi kaveri (used to address a male) · ar أَخِي (used to address a male) · ps مړه (used to address a male) · ja 兄貴 (diminutive of brother) · bg братко (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ca amic (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fi veikko (diminutive of brother) · fi toveri (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fi äijä (used to address a male) · tr kanka (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · bg брат (used to address a male) · he אָחִי (used to address a male) · es tío (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ta சகோ (diminutive of brother) · es hermano (used to address a male) · ta பங்கு (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · yi גוטער־ברודער (used to address a male) · es wey (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · id bung (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · it fratello (used to address a male) · cmn 兄弟老兄 (used to address a male) · ca company (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · es tío (used to address a male) · fr frérot (used to address a male) · ca tio (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · fa داداش (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ca paio (used to address a male) · eo amiko (used to address a male) · ru брата́н (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · es pibe (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ca tio (used to address a male) · fi veikkonen (diminutive of brother) · ca col·lega (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · pl braciak (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · bg братле (used to address a male) · bg брате (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ru брати́шка (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · ru бра́тец (used to address a male) · ta மச்சி (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals) · es compadre (male comrade or friend; one who shares one’s ideals)

bro en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Meanings

Forms

Deriveds

Descendants

Relateds

Synonyms

Translations (80)