brood
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to sit upon (eggs) to hatch, as a bird; incubate.
-
(of a bird) to warm, protect, or cover (young) with the wings or body.
-
to think or worry persistently or moodily about; ponder.
He brooded the problem.
verb (used without object)
-
to sit upon eggs to be hatched, as a bird.
-
to dwell on a subject or to meditate with morbid persistence (usually followed by over oron ).
adjective
verb phrase
noun
-
a number of young animals, esp birds, produced at one hatching
-
all the offspring in one family: often used jokingly or contemptuously
-
a group of a particular kind; breed
-
(as modifier) kept for breeding
a brood mare
verb
-
-
to sit on or hatch (eggs)
-
(tr) to cover (young birds) protectively with the wings
-
-
to ponder morbidly or persistently
Synonym Usage
Brood, litter refer to young creatures. Brood is especially applied to the young of fowls and birds hatched from eggs at one time and raised under their mother's care: a brood of young turkeys. Litter is applied to a group of young animals brought forth at a birth: a litter of kittens or pups.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
broodsimple
-
broodssimple
-
have broodedperfect
-
has broodedperfect
-
am broodingprogressive
-
are broodingprogressive
-
is broodingprogressive
-
have been broodingperfect progressive
-
has been broodingperfect progressive
Past
-
broodedsimple
-
had broodedperfect
-
was broodingprogressive
-
were broodingprogressive
-
had been broodingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of brood
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English brōd; cognate with Dutch broed, German Brut; see breed
Explanation
A brood is a group of young born at the same time — like a brood of chicks — but your parents might use the word for you and your siblings: "We're taking the whole brood to the movies tonight." Brood is also what a chicken does when she sits on her eggs to hatch them. You can also brood, when you worry and sulk and dwell on something obsessively — maybe as tedious as sitting on eggs, but no chicks when you're done. Things like clouds or silence can also brood, hanging over something ominously, as a storm that broods over the sea, sending fishermen scurrying for safety.
Vocabulary lists containing brood
Animal Farm
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Metaphors from Top AP English Exam Novels
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The beavers are said to be thriving and have since added to their brood, with three more kits being born there within the last month.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The past has not quite closed in—he and we will be left to brood about journeys made and not made.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Then there was his promise to build her a dance studio on their massive estate; he turned it into a schoolhouse for their growing brood of children.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2026
The actor noted that the family had embraced an abundance of wildlife on the ranch, and added pigs, chickens, horses, dogs, and cats to their brood.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026
But if we let some of the hens brood, to increase our flock, we might get away with frying a rooster once a month or so.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
He listens to Bach on headphones and broods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
In those cases, fledging mass can drop by up to 27%, particularly for broods that hatch later in the breeding season.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026
The actor noted that the family had embraced an abundance of wildlife on the ranch, including adding multiple animals to their broods, from pigs and chickens to horses, dogs, and cats.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 22, 2026
The last time these particular broods emerged in the same year was two centuries ago in 1803.
From BBC ● May 22, 2024
At twelve, he broods, and writes poetry in a journal like his father’s hero Agostinho Neto.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
But for the most part “Sweet Fortune” exults in romance — a shift from the singer’s previous record, 2023’s “Calico,” on which he brooded over a painful breakup.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
He brooded over his verses, revising them for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
Most of the time, however, they waited and brooded.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2020
Mr. Boehner, who resigned in 2015 under pressure from conservative Republican hard-liners, had some adjusting to do after he left the speakership, and, as recently as 2017, brooded about his purpose in life.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2019
I was never the sort of kid who brooded over things for hours on end.
From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro
And of course the dipping chocolate, thick and hot, not terribly sweet, but brooding and smoky.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
Nathaniel Hawthorne set this brooding, allegorical work in mid-19th-century Salem, Mass., a town cursed by the crimes of the witch trials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
But I can add some levity to the brooding atmosphere.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
His strong voice and dark brooding looks led to a public obsession that became known as Bruelmania.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
But now, the color has seeped out of Davey and left us with a canvas of gray on gray: gray, brooding clouds hanging from gray, murky skies.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
