Meaning & use
sorority sister
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A woman who belongs to the same sorority as another member, a social group at an American college, and is thought of as a close friend.
Grammar: Often plural and used with a possessive: her sorority sisters.
Patterns
- sorority sisters with someone
- one of my sorority sisters
Her sorority sisters threw her a surprise party after graduation.
Dana and I became sorority sisters in our freshman year.
Several sorority sisters volunteered at the food bank together.
nouncountableAmericaninformal
A woman with whom someone feels a close, lasting bond of loyalty because they went through the same sorority group.
Grammar: Often used long after college: still close with her sorority sisters.
Patterns
- sorority sister for life
Thirty years later, she still calls her sorority sisters every spring.
They stayed sorority sisters long after they left campus.
Word forms
| plural | sorority sisters |
|---|
Common combinations
- her sorority sisters
- Her sorority sisters showed up at the hospital with flowers.
- become sorority sisters
- The two girls became sorority sisters in their first term.
- close sorority sisters
- They remain close sorority sisters decades later.
- sorority sister reunion
- The sorority sister reunion drew sixty alumnae.
- fellow sorority sister
- A fellow sorority sister helped her find an apartment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sorority member
- Sorority member is the neutral, factual term, while sorority sister adds a feeling of closeness.
- fellow member
- Fellow member is a general phrase for any group and does not name the sorority.
- fraternity brother
- Fraternity brother is the male counterpart, used for members of men's college societies.
Word family
- sorority noun
- a social club for women at an American college
- sisterhood noun
- the bond among women who share a group or cause
- sisterly adjective
- like a sister
- fraternity noun
- a men's equivalent of a sorority
Commonly confused: sorority sister or sister? sorority sister or sorority?
sorority sister vs sister
A sister is a female relative by birth or marriage, while a sorority sister is a fellow member of a group.
sorority sister vs sorority
Sorority is the group itself, while sorority sister is one member of it.
Practice
What is a sorority sister?
Choose one answer.
A sorority sister is a fellow member of the same women's college society. A relative is simply a sister, and a teacher or donor is not a member.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sorority sister”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.