Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1900-2000
Origin: Big Brother powerful ruler who controlled everything in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell

big brother

 noun
     
big brother , Big Brother [uncountable]
PPP any person, organization, or system that seems to want to control people's lives and restrict their freedom:
Increasingly, the state is taking a big brother role in this area.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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