brook

play

noun \ ˈbru̇k \

Definition of brook

:creek 2

a babbling brook

See brook defined for English-language learners

Examples of brook in a Sentence

there are tiny fish and frogs in that brook

Recent Examples of brook from the Web

Through gently undulating hills, bubbling mountain brooks, fragrant forests and verdant pastures, the Bregenzerwald Cheese Road winds past 90 alpine farmsteads.

— Smithsonian, "10 Unexpectedly Scenic Places in Austria," 14 Aug. 2017
Sterile tiger trout (a brown-brook trout hybrid), 15,000 strong, were added to the jewel of Cascade lakes in 2016 and another 15,000 will be planted this year.

— bill monroe, OregonLive.com, "Sterile trout will prey on invasive Diamond Lake shiners," 4 Aug. 2017
When Trump Backers Want to Tell a Pipeline to Go Take a Hike Picture this: A peaceful hike along the Appalachian Trail through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, with birds chirping and brooks babbling.

— latimes.com, "Today: The President Will Scold You Now," 20 July 2017
Cleveland Heights operates a municipal sewer system that collects stormwater and transports it to the brooks, which flow into Lake Erie.

— james f. mccarty, cleveland.com, "US EPA sues Cleveland Heights, accusing city of fouling Doan, Dugway brooks with untreated stormwater," 19 July 2017
Its original name was Glenbrook, in homage to the property’s protected glen and the brook that flows through it.

— david caraccio, sacbee, "Shakespeare Ranch on Tahoe lakefront hits market for $69 million," 19 July 2017
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio - The U.S. EPA and Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit today against Cleveland Heights, accusing the city of Clean Water Act violations due to sewer overflows into the Doan and Dugway brooks.

— james f. mccarty, cleveland.com, "US EPA sues Cleveland Heights, accusing city of fouling Doan, Dugway brooks with untreated stormwater," 19 July 2017
Seeding is with juvenile brook, cutthroat, and rainbow trout.

— bill monroe, OregonLive.com, "Aerial stocking seeds Oregon mountain lakes with trout," 12 July 2017
The grounds, with barn and outbuildings, also include a brook and gardens.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Manchester Edition," 11 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of brook

Middle English, from Old English brōc; akin to Old High German bruoh marshy ground

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

brook Synonyms

Synonyms

beck [British], bourn (or bourne), creek, brooklet, burn [British], gill [British], rill, rivulet, run [chiefly Midland], runlet, runnel, streamlet

Related Words

arroyo, billabong [Australian], fresh, freshet, runoff; bayou, coulee, slough (also slew or slue), stream, wash; canal, channel, cut, cutoff, gut, kill, millrace, millstream, race, watercourse, waterway; affluent, branch, confluent, distributary, influent, tributary

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

brook

verb

Definition of brook

transitive verb

:to stand for :tolerate

he would brook no interference with his plans

See brook defined for English-language learners

See brook defined for kids

Examples of brook in a Sentence

I will not brook insults from my own employees.

Recent Examples of brook from the Web

The monument lies along the pristine east branch of the Penobscot River and is home to lynx, bears, brook trout and moose.

— susan levine, Washington Post, "Meet the nation’s most endangered monuments," 22 Aug. 2017
The money will be used to enhance road crossings and streambanks to reduce the impact of sediment on brook trout habitats.

— sabrina eaton, cleveland.com, "Local lake restoration projects get more than $650,000 in grants," 11 Aug. 2017
Rainbow, brook and brown trout often eat only a particular insect at that particular stage.

— steve waters, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Bass bite big snakes during the summer," 29 June 2017
New Jersey has a handful of state symbols, including an official fish (brook trout), bug (honey bee), animal (horse), bird (Eastern Goldfinch), dance (American Folk) and dinosaur (Hadrosaurus foulkii).

— melanie burney, Philly.com, "A New Jersey thing: An official state germ?," 14 June 2017
Two weeks later, while Keene was planting a garden at her house near Lubec in the northeast corner of Maine, Boutin helped a relative set a net for the last of his quota on a small brook off the Penobscot River near Bangor.

— douglas struck, The Christian Science Monitor, "Maine's most mysterious catch," 7 June 2017
Some other species found are largemouth bass, brown bullhead, white catfish, chain pickerel, brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout, according to ctfishfinder.com.

— frank cohen, courant.com, "For A Small State, Connecticut Rich In Fishing Spots," 17 May 2017
McWhorter brooks no condescension toward the Valley Girl.

— vinson cunningham, The New Yorker, "The Case for Black English," 15 May 2017
These conditions do not hold in North Korea, which brooks no dissent and is willing to let hundreds of thousands of its citizens starve to ensure the regime's survival.

— jonathan cristol, CNN, "Dealing with North Korea is not an option," 9 May 2017