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brood definition

brood (bro̵̅o̅d)

noun

  1. the offspring, or a family of offspring, of animals; esp., a group of birds or fowl hatched at one time and cared for together
  2. all the children in a family
  3. a group of a particular breed or kind the new brood of poets

Etymology: ME & OE brod, akin to Ger brut, a hatching: for IE base see breath

transitive verb

  1. to sit on and hatch (eggs)
  2. to hover over or protect (offspring, etc.) with or as with wings
  3. to ponder in a troubled or morbid way to brood revenge

intransitive verb

  1. to brood eggs or offspring
  2. to keep thinking about something in a distressed or troubled way; worry: often with on, over, or about
  3. to hover or loom; hang low

adjective

kept for breeding a brood hen

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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