plural bros
1
informal : brother
… Tommy has a worldview that's larger than his baby bro's.—Leah Rozen
2
US slang
a
: a male friend
hanging out with his bros
One quirky edge the Olympics haven't yet sanded away is the habit of extreme athletes to stick together. Like, no matter where we're from, we're all bros. That kind of thing.—Devin Gordon et al.
b
—used as a friendly way of addressing a man or boy
Hey, bro, what's up?
Catch you later, bro.
c
: a young male who is part of a group of similar male friends stereotypically characterized as hearty, athletic, self-confident, party-loving, etc.
The recent season of "Project Greenlight," on HBO, made explicit how resistant to race talk Hollywood can be, a stifling culture of bros bonding with mirror versions of themselves.—Emily Nussbaum
These were nerds who could pass for bros on a dorm-room sofa …—Ben McGrath
—often used before another noun
It's the continuation of the bro culture. In my experience, in this world right now, white guys have an advantage. In their training, they've been given access and tools that I haven't. White men get behind each other and empower themselves.—Tanya Holland

Examples of bro in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Yeah, and that was good to have someone like that on my side at a young comedy age, bro. — Deputy Entertainment, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026 Once a member of Sway House, the frat-like content studio that dominated during the pandemic, Beck is now leveraging his roots (dancing shirtless on TikTok) for something ever-so-slightly less bro-y. — Seija Rankin, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 That may have contributed to their decision to acridly lil-bro Loop, the ’80s space rock band they were routinely compared to, in the press. — Gabriel Szatan, Pitchfork, 18 Oct. 2026 We were surrounded by a handful of bro-looking guys in Arc'teryx vests and Peter Millar quarter zips, mostly drinking beer and whiskey. — Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bro

Word History

Etymology

by alteration

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bro was circa 1530

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bro.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bro. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Kids Definition

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