brood

brood (br

1. 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.

2. The children in one family.

v. brood·ed, brood·ing, broods

v.tr.

1. To sit on or hatch (eggs).

2. To protect (young) by or as if by covering with the wings.

v.intr.

1. To sit on or hatch eggs.

2. 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.

adj.

Kept for breeding: a brood hen.

[Middle English, from Old English brd; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots.]

brooding·ly adv.

Synonyms: brood, dwell, fret¹, mope, stew, worry
These verbs mean to turn over in the mind moodily and at length: brooding about his decline in popularity; dwelled on her defeat; fretted over the loss of his job; moping about his illness; stewing over her upcoming trial; worrying about the unpaid bills. See Also Synonyms at flock¹.

brood

Noun

1. a number of young animals, esp. birds, produced at one hatching

2. all the children in a family: often used jokingly

Verb

1. (of a bird) to sit on or hatch eggs

2. to think long and unhappily about something: he brooded on his failure to avert the confrontation [Old English brōd]

brooding nadj

Brood the young of animals or of birds, hatched or reared at the same time or from the same dam. See also aerie, breed, fry.

Examples: brood of birds, 1530; of blackgame, 1805; of smallboats; of chess players [modern pun on to brood—Lipton, 1970]; of chicken, 1611; of daughters, 1896; of ducks, 1711; of eels, 1558; of eagles; of eggs; of folly, 1632; of game; of grouse; of guilty wishes, 1863; of hawks; of heath fowl, 1805; of hens, 1486; of kittens; of lies, 1798; of oysters [in second year], 1862; of petty despots, 1867; of poisons, 1719; of presbyterians, 1706; of salmon, 1389; of serpents, 1697; of silkworms, 1760; of time, 1597.

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	brood - the young of an animal cared for at one time animal group - a group of animals clutch - a number of birds hatched at the same time
Verb	1.	brood - think moodily or anxiously about something dwell worry, care - be concerned with; "I worry about my grades"
	2.	brood - hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing; "The terrible vision brooded over her all day long" bulk large, loom, hover hang - be menacing, burdensome, or oppressive; "This worry hangs on my mind"; "The cloud of suspicion hangs over her" eclipse, overshadow, dominate - be greater in significance than; "the tragedy overshadowed the couple's happiness"
	3.	brood - be in a huff and display one's displeasure; "She is pouting because she didn't get what she wanted" pout, sulk grizzle, stew, brood - be in a huff; be silent or sullen
	4.	brood - be in a huff; be silent or sullen grizzle, stew pout, sulk, brood - be in a huff and display one's displeasure; "She is pouting because she didn't get what she wanted"
	5.	brood - sit on (eggs); "Birds brood"; "The female covers the eggs" incubate, hatch, cover procreate, reproduce, multiply - have offspring or produce more individuals of a given animal or plant; "The Bible tells people to procreate" hatch - emerge from the eggs; "young birds, fish, and reptiles hatch" breed, cover - copulate with a female, used especially of horses; "The horse covers the mare"