brood

noun \ ˈbrüd \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Editor's Note: The eggy history of brood

Definition of brood

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 plays
—T. S. Eliot

3 : the children of a family

takes their brood to church every Sunday

See brood defined for English-language learners

See brood defined for kids

Examples of brood in a Sentence

a hen and her brood of chicks
Mrs. Smith took her brood to church every Sunday.

Recent Examples of brood from the Web

As habitat quality declines, mortality typically increases to hens and broods as nests are destroyed by predators or agricultural activity.

— paul a. smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: As habitat dwindles, duck numbers deserve a close watch," 4 July 2018
Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die, Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred Why would a father ask his ever-expanding brood of what became 11 children to memorize a poem about war and slaughter?

— kerry kennedy, Time, "Kerry Kennedy: What My Father, RFK, Means Today," 31 May 2018
Meanwhile the ex-wife, who has a family history of mental illness, broods over her replacement.

— jacqueline carey, New York Times, "Dangers Close to Home: Four New Domestic Thrillers," 23 Feb. 2018
In bumblebee colonies, sterile female offspring forage, bring in food for the nest, clean and help rear the brood.

— joanna klein, New York Times, "Bumblebees Thrive in the City but Struggle on the Farm," 27 June 2018
Left alone to work for his dad’s company and brood a lot around the house, Ashwin will slowly develop a bond with Ratna that extends beyond a mere master-servant relationship into something more.

— jordan mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Sir': Film Review | Cannes 2018," 14 May 2018
The snap is believed to be the famous brood’s first family photo with Jamie Lynn’s youngest.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Britney Spears & Sister Jamie Lynn Bring Together All Their Children - Including New Baby Ivey Joan," 15 June 2018
According to The Washington Post, the army has already ordered another brood of drone-destroying eagles.

— darren orf, Popular Mechanics, "When Drones Got You Down, Call In the Eagles," 22 Feb. 2017
The annual wild turkey brood survey, which helps state biologists determine the health and size of the turkey population and determines the potential for turkey hunting in the fall, started this month.

— zipporah osei and julia preszler, BostonGlobe.com, "An island fund-raiser, a low-vision support group, and helping the turkey count," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'brood.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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.

Origin and Etymology of brood

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Other Birds Terms

aerie, bunting, clutch, covey, hackle, ratite, rictus, ruff, skein, zygodactyl

brood

adjective

Definition of brood

: kept for breeding (see ¹breed 3)

a brood flock

Origin and Etymology of brood

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

brood

verb

Definition of brood

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 walk
—Christopher 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

See brood defined for English-language learners

Examples of brood in a Sentence

He brooded over his mistake.
After the argument, she sat in her bedroom, brooding.

Recent Examples of brood from the Web

The new owner had started life as a barber who rose to become a prominent politician under Napoleon, but who later lost Napoleon’s patronage and retired wounded to his house to brood and collect great works of art.

— luke leitch, Vogue, "Male Patterned Boldness: Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Sartoria Ode to Villa Carlotta," 9 July 2018
That led to a scene described in The Undefeated, with Cousins brooding on that balcony in the pre-dawn Las Vegas heat.

— scott ostler, SFChronicle.com, "When Cousins made his move," 6 July 2018
The same developer behind Geralt’s brooding, sword-and-magic adventures has now emerged with a first-person, shotgun-crazy, branching-narrative, hack-the-world, exploding-limbs dive into the criminal underbelly of near-future Los Angeles.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Cyberpunk 2077 world premiere: 50 minutes of William Gibson-level insanity," 14 June 2018
With his perpetually windswept black hair and brooding green eyes, Timothée Chalamet is the millennial answer to a young Leonardo DiCaprio.

— liana satenstein, Vogue, "Timothée Chalamet Merchandise Is a Real Thing," 14 May 2018
From this attitude sprung a sound that is brooding yet upbeat.

— josh coe, BostonGlobe.com, "Weakened Friends share a van, a house, and an indie attitude," 22 May 2018
But Harvey resisted the move initially, brooding about the decision and snapping at reporters for asking about his first relief appearance.

— tyler kepner, New York Times, "Matt Harvey Comes to a Crossroads With the Mets," 2 May 2018
The title track, which Billboard Dance is exclusively premiering, is the kind of silky, brooding tech house creation which Devant has built his name off of.

— michael sundius, Billboard, "Serge Devant Serves Up Tantalizing Tech House Track 'White Groove': Exclusive," 26 Apr. 2018
The breed was developed to be resistant to brood disease and Varroa mites that have devastated bee colonies across the country.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "It's All About The Bees At Cedar Lane Apiaries," 1 May 2018