brood
noun
a number of young produced or hatched at one time; a family of offspring or young.
was brooding
-
past progressiveof brood.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
“Heathcliff was brooding but she said, ‘What if he wasn’t brooding?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
This was years before "Finding Forrester" or "Henry Fool;" before scribe Jughead was brooding in "Riverdale" — even before "Poetic Justice" or "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle."
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2022
Meanwhile, an hour south in Daytona Beach, the Elephant was brooding.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 12, 2022
"It was actually a funny conversation because I was brooding and moody all the time. And finally I told her I was gay and she was like, 'What, that's it? Everybody's a little gay.'"
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2020
One day when the tiercel was brooding the eggs and Frightful was looping and gliding, she heard Sam whistle from the mountain that rose above the river.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
