brood

1 of 3

noun

1
: the young of an animal or a family of young
especially : the young (as of a bird or insect) hatched or cared for at one time
a hen with her brood of chicks
2
: a group having a common nature or origin
the entire brood of chronicle playsT. S. Eliot
3
: the children of a family
takes their brood to church every Sunday

brood

2 of 3

adjective

: kept for breeding (see breed entry 1 sense 3)
a brood flock

brood

3 of 3

verb

brooded; brooding; broods

transitive verb

1
a
: to sit on or incubate (eggs)
b
: to produce by or as if by incubation : hatch
2
of a bird : to cover (young) with the wings
3
: to think anxiously or gloomily about : ponder
I used to brood these things on my walkChristopher Morley

intransitive verb

1
a
of a bird : to brood eggs or young
b
: to sit quietly and thoughtfully : meditate
2
: hover, loom
the old fort brooding above the valley
3
a
: to dwell gloomily on a subject
brooded over his mistake
b
: to be in a state of depression
sat brooding in her room

Did you know?

The Eggy History of Brood

One of the noun senses of brood that is often encountered today is "the children of a family" (as in "they showed up at the picnic with their whole brood"). This may seem as though it is unrelated to the most commonly used verb sense, which is "to think anxiously or gloomily about; ponder," but the two words come from the same source, the Old English brōd. The noun form of brood came first, and the verb, when it appeared in our language, was used to refer to the action of chickens sitting on their eggs. Eventually the verb began to be used in a figurative manner, and took on the "worriedly pondering" sense it has today.

Examples of brood in a Sentence

Noun a hen and her brood of chicks Mrs. Smith took her brood to church every Sunday. Verb He brooded over his mistake. After the argument, she sat in her bedroom, brooding.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Following up on past observations that caecilian broods spend a lot of time around the maternal vent, Jared, Antoniazzi, and their co-researchers collected 16 female caecilians and their young from beneath the forest floor of cacao plantations. Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024 Both are crow-sized, chunky birds that establish life-long pair bonds that usually produce one brood per breeding season. Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Pastel unfortunately dominated the brood: most of the snakes would be priced in the low thousands. Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 Two different groups, or broods, of cicadas, are expected to emerge in the Southeast and Midwest beginning in mid-May and lasting through late June. Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2024 There are seven different species of cicadas, three of which surface every 17 years, while the remaining broods emerge every 13 years. TIME, 19 Jan. 2024 One brood of cicadas has been waiting a long time to emerge; now is their time. Joyce Orlando, The Courier-Journal, 19 Jan. 2024 Kobe and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, became parents for the first time when Natalia was born in January 2003, and their brood of girls continued to grow from there. Emy Lacroix, Peoplemag, 26 Jan. 2024 This spring, billions of bugs from two different broods of red-eyed, high-decibel periodical cicadas are expected to emerge together — and possibly interbreed — in the middle of the country for the first time since 1803. Bonnie Berkowitz, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
Adjective
First, coot parents allow brood reduction to happen, watching their chicks compete to the death. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2013 Their home became a way station for traveling students, poets and artists, as well as for Mr. Barker’s already sizable brood, many of them grown with families of their own. New York Times, 19 May 2022 The Yankees’ ace didn’t brood that whole time, but didn’t forget about the Red Sox chasing him in the third inning of the American League Wild Card. Kristie Ackert, Hartford Courant, 7 Apr. 2022 Biologists this week assigned the famed gray wolf OR-7 and his brood official pack status, the Associated Press reports. The Editors, Outside Online, 9 Jan. 2015 The most limiting factor for these stockings is acquiring brood stock. Matt Wyatt, San Antonio Express-News, 29 Apr. 2021 The department’s goal within the next few years is to create an army of brood fish from ShareLunker offspring. Dallas News, 10 Apr. 2021 Justin Hughes, upland gamebird habitat specialist for Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks in Region 7, said turkeys enjoyed good nesting and brood conditions across the region during 2020. Brian Lovett, Outdoor Life, 8 Jan. 2021 Though still being tabulated, this summer’s study suggests brood survival was favorable, at least in the northeast, Roy said. Star Tribune, 17 Sep. 2020
Verb
Both actors have played the show's leading man on the Regency era series, with Page kicking things off as the brooding Duke of Hastings in season one, opposite love interest Daphne Bridgerton (played by Phoebe Dynevor). Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 10 Mar. 2024 In the now-iconic scene, a brooding Darcy walks across the grounds of his Pemberley estate after a quick swim. Catherine Duncan, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024 Adopting a new fandom also helped cement local pride and friendships, including a buddy who taught me to love baseball’s brooding pace. Steven Leckart, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Fans of Schitt's Creek will love seeing Noah Reid in his cowboy getup, and all Yellowstone fans can appreciate a brooding Josh Brolin playing a conflicted rancher trying to keep his family safe. Emily Blackwood, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024 And although Sybil Sassoon’s brooding black taffeta opera cloak looks somewhat flat compared to its five-foot illustrative counterpart, the dressed mannequins act as three dimensional portals into Sargent’s world. Leah Dolan, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024 Selena Gomez is perhaps one of the first celebrities to have modeled herself on this brooding protagonist. Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2024 To avoid divulging spoilers, the essentials of the plot are that Christopher lives alone with his father, Ed (an excellent and brooding Nathan Madden) in Swindon, England. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2024 Once brooding is done, the female octopus dies around the time her eggs hatch. Emilee Coblentz, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brood.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English brōd; akin to Middle High German bruot brood and perhaps to Old English beorma yeast — more at barm

Adjective

Middle English brod- (in compounds), attributive use of brod, brood brood entry 1

Verb

Middle English broden, verbal derivative of brod, brood brood entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of brood was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near brood

Cite this Entry

“Brood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brood. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

brood

1 of 3 noun
: a family of young animals or children
especially : the young (as of a bird) hatched or cared for at one time

brood

2 of 3 verb
1
: to sit on eggs in order to hatch them
2
: to cover young with the wings
3
: to think long and anxiously about something
brooded over his mistake
broodingly
-iŋ-lē
adverb

brood

3 of 3 adjective
: kept for breeding
a brood mare
a brood flock

Medical Definition

brood

1 of 2 noun
: the young of an animal or a family of young
especially : the young (as of a bird or insect) hatched or cared for at one time

brood

2 of 2 transitive verb
1
a
: to sit on or incubate (eggs)
b
: to produce by or as if by incubation
2
: to think anxiously or gloomily about

intransitive verb

1
of a bird : to brood eggs or young
2
a
: to dwell gloomily on a subject
b
: to be in a state of depression

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