brook

1 of 2

noun

ˈbru̇k 

: creek sense 1

a babbling brook

brook

2 of 2

verb

brooked; brooking; brooks

transitive verb

: to stand for : tolerate

he would brook no interference with his plans

Synonyms

Noun

• beck [British]
• bourn
• bourne
• brooklet
• burn [British]
• creek
• gill [British]
• rill
• rivulet
• run [chiefly Midland]
• runlet
• runnel
• streamlet

Verb

• abide
• absorb
• accept
• bear
• bide [chiefly dialect]
• countenance
• endure
• go
• hack
• handle
• meet
• pocket
• stand
• stick out
• stomach
• support
• sustain
• sweat out
• take
• tolerate
• wear [British]

Examples of brook in a Sentence

Noun

there are tiny fish and frogs in that brook

Verb

I will not brook insults from my own employees.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The 1851-52 painting by John Everett Millais is one of the most popular renderings of Ophelia's death, which depicts her lying, almost peacefully, among flowers in a brook. —Audrey Gibbs, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2025

The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are decided according to which side of the town's small brook they were born on. —Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025

Verb

Its autocratic government brooks no dissent so decision-making should be easier than in fractious America and decisions should stick longer. —Bob Davis, Time, 12 Apr. 2025

That principle brooks no discernable distinction between citizens and noncitizens who live among us. —David Cole, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

Verb

Middle English brouken, broken "to have the benefit of, enjoy, employ, use, eat or drink, stomach, tolerate," going back to Old English brūcan "to enjoy the use of, use, employ, partake (of food or drink), possess," going back to Germanic *brūkan-/*brūkjan- (whence also Old Frisian brūka "to make use of, employ," Old Saxon brūkan "to enjoy the use of," Middle Dutch brūken "to use, enjoy," Old High German brūchan "to enjoy the use of," Gothic brūhjan "to use"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *b^hruHg- "enjoy, use" whence also Latin fruor, fruī "to enjoy the produce or proceeds of, derive advantage from, be blessed with, derive pleasure from" (see fruit entry 1)

Note: The Indo-European etymon *b^hruHg- is attested only in Germanic and Italic, and within Germanic not in the northern branch (Danish bruge "to use," Swedish bruka, etc., are loans from Low German). In Old English brūcan is a Class II strong verb (preterit breac, brucon, participle brocen), and in Old Saxon brūkan, attested only in the infinitive, is probably also strong. In Middle English and the other Germanic languages, however, it is a weak verb, with only traces of possible strong forms. The phonetic outcome displayed by Modern English brook, with [u], is peculiar and cannot directly continue Old English ū. E. J. Dobson hypothesizes that a new Middle English infinitive with ŭ was formed on the analogy of the weak past tense and past participle early enough to undergo open-syllable lengthening—hence brŭken > brọ̄ken > brook, with [u:] later shortened to [u] (see English Pronunciation, 1500-1700, 2. edition, Oxford, 1968, p. 513). Present-day English continues only a small portion of the original meaning of the verb.

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1530, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing brook

• brook trout

Rhymes for brook

• book
• crook
• hook
• look
• mook
• nook
• rook
• shook
• snook
• stook
• took
• betook

Kids Definition

brook

1 of 2 verb

ˈbru̇k 

: tolerate sense 1

brooks no interference

brook

2 of 2 noun

: a small stream

Etymology

Verb

Old English brūcan "to use, enjoy"

Noun

Old English brōc "brook, creek"