brainstorm

American  

[breyn-stawrm] / ˈbreɪnˌstɔrm /

noun

1. 1. a sudden impulse, idea, etc..

      Her most recent brainstorm of teaching her dog to surf wasn’t met with much enthusiasm from the dog.

   2. Chiefly British Informal. a fit of mental confusion or excitement.

2. a session of brainstorming.

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adjective

1. of or relating to brainstorming.

verb (used without object)

1. to conduct or practice brainstorming, a technique for generating ideas and solving specific problems with uncensored and nonlinear thinking, usually performed through group participation in a spontaneous discussion where all ideas are noted without assigning them value, and no proposal is selected or discarded until after the conclusion of the creative exercise.

verb (used with object)

1. to generate (ideas, solutions, questions, etc.) through brainstorming.

brainstorm British  

/ ˈbreɪnˌstɔːm /

noun

1. a severe outburst of excitement, often as the result of a transitory disturbance of cerebral activity

2. informal a sudden mental aberration

3. informal another word for brainwave

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• brainstormer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of brainstorm

First recorded in 1890–95; brain + storm; originally a manifestation of a serious psychiatric disorder

Explanation

As you would expect, the word brainstorm involves thought. A brainstorm can be an "Aha!" moment, while brainstorming is the process of trying to think of ideas. If you've ever needed to find a topic for a paper and have just started listing every idea coming to you, you know what it's like to brainstorm. People brainstorm when they need a new idea. You can also say you had a brainstorm when a good idea or solution occurs to you. Often, this kind of brainstorm happens when you're not even working on the problem. For example, a scientist might have a brainstorm for a new project in the shower.

Example Sentences

She recalled a recent session in which she used Anthropic’s Claude to brainstorm for an hour and a half, then asked it to summarize the conversation in a document.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Inspired by the global reach and scale of Poetic Kinetics’ “Escape Velocity,” NewSubstance first arrived on the polo field in 2016 to brainstorm.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Allan Binder, a teacher and sound engineer currently based in Hanoi, Vietnam, said he started using AI last year to brainstorm gift ideas for friends and family in the US.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

To help you brainstorm, Barron’s ran a stock screen via FactSet and looked for companies with large market capitalizations in three classically defensive sectors—consumer staples, utilities, and healthcare—that also boast solid earnings and dividends.

From Barron's • Nov. 8, 2025

Major McEvoy kind of perked up at this brainstorm and asked for a sheepdog demonstration.

From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff

Related Words

• deliberate