# my brother's keeper

idiom · CEFR C1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/my-brothers-keeper
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Meaning

Responsible for the welfare of another person — most often used when denying that responsibility.

## Examples

- She stopped and helped the stranger, because she felt she was her brother's keeper.
- When asked why he had walked past the accident, he just shrugged and said he was not his brother's keeper.
- The charity was founded on a plain conviction that we are, in the end, our brother's keeper — that a neighbour's hunger is not somebody else's problem.

## Origin

The phrase comes from the story of the first murder, in Genesis 4. Cain, having killed his brother Abel out of jealousy, is asked by God where Abel is. He answers with a question of his own: "Am I my brother's keeper?" It is a lie dressed as a shrug — Cain knows exactly where his brother is, and the reader knows he does. The retort has survived because it captures a particular kind of evasion: pretending that another person's fate is simply none of your concern. In modern English the phrase is used both ways. To say you are your brother's keeper is to accept responsibility for others; to ask "Am I my brother's keeper?" is Cain's move — a way of denying that any such duty exists.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.