sibling
part of speech
noun (a sibling, siblings)
meaning for a pupil
A sibling is a brother or sister. tree →
sense in the lessons
In family lessons, siblings are children who share one or both parents; half-siblings share one parent; step-siblings are joined through a parent's marriage; twins are siblings born at the same time. Sibling rivalry means brothers and sisters competing or arguing, which is normal; sharing, taking turns and talking it out help. In maths problems: «Ella has 3 siblings» means 3 brothers and/or sisters, not counting Ella herself. Phrases: «older sibling», «younger sibling», «sibling rivalry», «only child» (no siblings).
examples
- I have two siblings: a brother and a sister. tree →
- Do you have any siblings? tree →
- Sibling rivalry is normal, but be kind. tree →
- My younger sibling started school this year. tree →
- An only child has no siblings. tree →
- Twins are siblings born on the same day. tree →
- Siblings often share bedrooms. tree →
- If there are 4 children in a family, each child has 3 siblings. tree →
note
Plural siblings. «Sibling» is a neutral word for brother or sister. In maths problems, siblings do not include the person themselves: a family with 5 children → each has 4 siblings. Half-siblings and step-siblings count as siblings in everyday speech.
In the corpora
- The children of a parent's partner can become your step-siblings: brothers or sisters through marriage, not by birth.
- Younger siblings copy older ones because they admire them and learn by watching.
- Everyone deserves some private space, so ask siblings calmly to knock.
- Tell an adult about a sibling only when someone is hurt, in danger or breaking an important rule.
- Older siblings need time with friends their own age.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sibling» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.