brood Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the young of an animal cared for at one time
  2. verb think moodily or anxiously about something
    dwell.
  3. verb hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
    hover; bulk large; loom.
    • The terrible vision brooded over her all day long
  4. verb be in a huff and display one's displeasure
    pout; sulk.
    • She is pouting because she didn't get what she wanted
  5. verb be in a huff; be silent or sullen
    stew; grizzle.
  6. verb sit on (eggs)
    incubate; cover; hatch.
    • Birds brood
    • The female covers the eggs

WordNet

Brood noun
Etymology
OE. brod, AS. brod; akin to D. broed, OHG. bruot, G. brut, and also to G. brühe broth, MHG. brüeje, and perh. to E. brawn, breath. Cf. Breed, v. t.
Definitions
  1. The young birds hatched at one time; a hatch; as, a brood of chicken.
    As a hen doth gather her brood under her wings. Luke xiii. 34.
    A hen followed by a brood of ducks. Spectator.
  2. The young from the same dam, whether produced at the same time or not; young children of the same mother, especially if nearly of the same age; offspring; progeny; as, a woman with a brood of children.
    The lion roars and gluts his tawny brood. Wordsworth.
  3. That which is bred or produced; breed; species.
    Flocks of the airy brood, (Cranes, geese or long-necked swans). Chapman.
  4. (Mining) Heavy waste in tin and copper ores. Shak.
Brood adjective
Definitions
  1. Sitting or inclined to sit on eggs.
  2. Kept for breeding from; as, a brood mare; brood stock; having young; as, a brood sow.
Brood intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Brooded present participle & verbal noun Brooding
Definitions
  1. To sit on and cover eggs, as a fowl, for the purpose of warming them and hatching the young; or to sit over and cover young, as a hen her chickens, in order to warm and protect them; hence, to sit quietly, as if brooding.
    Birds of calm sir brooding on the charmed wave. Milton.
  2. To have the mind dwell continuously or moodily on a subject; to think long and anxiously; to be in a state of gloomy, serious thought; -- usually followed by over or on; as, to brood over misfortunes.
    Brooding on unprofitable gold. Dryden.
    Brooding over all these matters, the mother felt like one who has evoked a spirit. Hawthorne.
    When with downcast eyes we muse and brood. Tennyson.
Brood transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To sit over, cover, and cherish; as, a hen broods her chickens.
  2. To cherish with care. R.
  3. To think anxiously or moodily upon.
    You'll sit and brood your sorrows on a throne. Dryden.

Webster 1913