brood

1 of 3

noun

ˈbrüd

Synonyms of brood next

: 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

: a group having a common nature or origin

the entire brood of chronicle plays—

T. S. Eliot

: 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

: to sit on or incubate (eggs)

: to produce by or as if by incubation : hatch

of a bird : to cover (young) with the wings

: to think anxiously or gloomily about : ponder

I used to brood these things on my walk—

Christopher Morley

intransitive verb

of a bird : to brood eggs or young

: to sit quietly and thoughtfully : meditate

: hover, loom

the old fort brooding above the valley

: to dwell gloomily on a subject

brooded over his mistake

: 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.

Example Sentences

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

Culkin cleared up the sudden disappearance of those additions to Roman's brood while chatting with Variety. —

Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2023 Edoardo Agnelli, Gianni's father, bought a villa there for the family to spend their summers in 1926, and the patrician brood were fixtures there through the 1960s. —

Erik Maza, Town & Country, 24 Apr. 2023 Sharing a carousel of images on Instagram Tuesday, the couple celebrated their baby's homecoming, with the new mom posting multiple photos of her brood (plus many fur babies) adjusting to life at home. —

Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2023 Many species employ similar tactics, a practice known as brood parasitism or, depending on the details, kleptoparasitism. —

Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023 Stay physically and mentally active, which will give you less time to brood. —

Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 8 July 2022 The rest of the brood will enjoy delights like breakfast for two and pancake mix to take home. —

Spencer Whaley, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023 His Charlie broods, charms, flirts and puts on fake mustaches and hipster hats to pull off his heists. —

Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2023 Vanity Fair shared an exclusive first look at the Addams brood in all their gothic glory. —

Jessica Wang, EW.com, 16 Aug. 2022

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

The large swans, which have eight-foot wingspans and snow-white feathers, require cold, clear, pristine lakes and ponds to breed and brood their downy gray cygnets. —

Andrew Mckean, Outdoor Life, 10 May 2023 The elder Thomases while away their days sunning and sipping rum punch, while Alison ribs them for being out-of-touch capitalists and Claire quietly broods. —

Joshua Alston, Variety, 26 Apr. 2023 Across five tracks, the band deftly navigates a range of styles, from brooding R&B to trop-pop, proving that this united voice of Gen Z can truly do it all — a sentiment its devoted fans, known as MOA (an acronym for Moments of Alwaysness) knows well. —

Lyndsey Havens, Billboard, 24 Apr. 2023 And, brooding over her like a tiny Easter Island statue, Madge, her old bridesmaid, as wordless and existential as a Beckett character. —

Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 24 Apr. 2023 The truth is a catalyst for Callie, who has been brooding about her parents’ dysfunctional relationship and life for the entirety of the series, to finally treat her parents with some respect. —

Radhika Menon, ELLE, 15 Apr. 2023 The international team of scientists on this study believes that mother Troodons sat and brooded on them. —

Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2023 The Mockingbird & The Crow was released in January and is a loose concept album that splits its two sides between Hardy’s immaculate pop-country confections and brooding rock sounds. —

Jon Freeman, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2023 As with Switzerland’s Remo Forrer, Vernicos is obviously a fan of brooding British singer-songwriters with a somewhat relaxed approach to diction. —

Jon O'brien, Vulture, 9 May 2023 See More

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.