Meanings
nounportmanbro (plural portmanbros)
plural portmanbros
- informalA portmanteau word incorporating the term bro, denoting a concept related to bro culture.
It also reflects the way portmanteau coinages incorporating “bro-” and “man-” — “portmanbros,” if you will — have increasingly taken on a critical edge, in keeping with shifts in conversations around gender.
2017 December 14, Jennifer Schuessler, “‘Youthquake’ Is Oxford’s Word of the Year. Sorry, Broflake.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2019
Origin
- Englishportmanteau
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰréh₂tēr
- Proto-Germanic*brōþēr
- Proto-West Germanic*brōþer
- Old Englishbrōþor
- Middle Englishbrother
- Englishbrotherclip.
- Englishbro
- Englishportmanbro
Blend of portmanteau + bro.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
portmanbro. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portmanbro
MLA
“portmanbro.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portmanbro. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “portmanbro,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/portmanbro.
Source: portmanbro on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.