brainstorm

American  

[breyn-stawrm] / ˈbreɪnˌstɔrm /

noun

brainstorms plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• brainstorms
  plural

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

See Examples For:

brainstorm brainstorms

They didn’t get to figure out that they wanted a horn section or brainstorm on what visuals, lighting and pyrotechnics would add to their show.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

On other social platforms like YouTube, the topic of leavers' shirts has filled feeds with DIY vlogs documenting designs, while users on Reddit brainstorm last-minute ideas.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

It can serve as a place to brainstorm or even draft an early version of a press release “as long as there is a significant, significant editing process,” he says.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

Designers also brainstorm with AI by describing ideas that are generated into mood boards.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

Lina had the brainstorm to stop at Carvel on our way home, which felt like a very “springtime” thing to do, so we walked in the opposite direction up Amesfort toward the park.

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio

Here are some of the brainstorms they wished for.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

But not all of Marlon’s brainstorms were so outré, and here is the Brando’s principal innovative success.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2024

Researchers are just beginning to test some of the ideas generated by these brainstorms.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 18, 2023

Glimcher added that it was getting difficult to tell his father that there was no room for his brainstorms.

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2022

I picture Grandma weaving the threads together, humming and chuckling while she brainstorms the next mind-bending story she’s going to tell me about Ghana.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• deliberate