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brood
The definition of brood is the offspring or children in a family.
(noun)An example of brood is baby chicks all mothered by the same hen.
Brood means to sit on eggs, protect babies or to worry.
(verb)An example of brood is a mom sitting up worrying about her child.
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See brood in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- the offspring, or a family of offspring, of animals; esp., a group of birds or fowl hatched at one time and cared for together
- all the children in a family
- a group of a particular breed or kind: the new brood of poets
Origin: ME & OE brod, akin to Ger brut, a hatching: for IE base see breath
transitive verb
- to sit on and hatch (eggs)
- to hover over or protect (offspring, etc.) with or as with wings
- to ponder in a troubled or morbid way: to brood revenge
intransitive verb
- to brood eggs or offspring
- to keep thinking about something in a distressed or troubled way; worry: often with on, over, or about
- to hover or loom; hang low
adjective
kept for breeding: a brood hen
See brood in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time and cared for by the same mother. See Synonyms at flock1.
- The children in one family.
- To sit on or hatch (eggs).
- To protect (young) by or as if by covering with the wings.
- To sit on or hatch eggs.
- To hover envelopingly; loom.
- a. To be deep in thought; meditate.b. To focus the attention on a subject persistently and moodily; worry: brooded over the insult for several days.c. To be depressed.
Kept for breeding: a brood hen.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English
Origin: , from Old English brōd; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots
.Related Forms:
- broodˈing·ly adverb
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