Meaning & use
a sister
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Meanings
nouncountable
a girl or woman who has the same parents as another person
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a sister', 'two sisters', or 'my sister'.
Patterns
- someone's sister
- a sister of someone
My sister lives in Chicago with her husband.
He has two sisters and one brother.
Is she your sister or your cousin?
nouncountablereligion
a female member of a religious community, especially a nun
Grammar: Used as a title before a name: Sister Mary; otherwise 'a sister' or 'the sisters'.
Patterns
- Sister + name
- a sister at a convent
Sister Anne taught at the school for thirty years.
The sisters run a small hospital in the countryside.
nouncountableBritishold-fashioned
a female nurse in charge of a hospital ward, especially in Britain
Grammar: In British hospitals, 'Sister' is used as a title: Sister Jones.
Patterns
- Sister + name
- the sister on the ward
Sister Brown will check your bandage in the morning.
Ask the sister if you need more painkillers.
Word forms
| plural | sisters |
|---|
Common combinations
- older sister
- My older sister is a doctor.
- younger sister
- His younger sister just started college.
- big sister
- She's like a big sister to me.
- twin sister
- Her twin sister looks exactly like her.
- sister city
- Our town has a sister city in Japan.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sibling
- A formal word for a brother or sister; use it in official or scientific contexts, not in everyday talk.
- nun
- Specifically a woman in a religious order; 'sister' is the respectful title used when speaking to or about her.
Opposites
Word family
- sisterly adjective
- showing the kind, caring feelings of a sister
- sisterhood noun
- the relationship between sisters or a group of women who support each other
Commonly confused: a sister or stepsister?
a sister vs stepsister
A stepsister is the daughter of your parent's new partner, not a biological or adopted sister.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'sister' correctly for a female sibling?
Choose one answer.
'My sister and I share a room' is correct because 'sister' is singular and takes a singular verb if it is the subject; here it is part of a compound subject. 'My sister are' is wrong because the verb should be 'is'. 'Two sister' is wrong because 'two' needs the plural 'sisters'. 'Sister of mine' sounds unnatural; we say 'a sister of mine' or 'my sister'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a sister”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.