brainstorm.
To investigate something, or solve a problem using brainstorming.
Meaning & usage
To investigate something, or solve a problem using brainstorming.
To participate in a brainstorming session.
To think up (ideas); especially, to do so creatively.
I need you to brainstorm some suggestions for next week's activity schedule.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-n̥ Proto-Indo-European *mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s Proto-Germanic *bragną Proto-West Germanic *bragn Old English bræġn Middle English brayn English brain English storm English brainstorm From brain + storm. In the sense of "problem-solve", devised as a method of group creative problem-solving by advertising executive Alex F. Osborn and his employees, who coined the term based on the image of using "the brain to storm a problem". First use appears c. 1945. In the sense of "seizure, convulsion, brain activity", from the unrelated idea that it resembles a storm in the brain. First use appears c. 1861.
A sudden thought, particularly one that solves a long-standing problem.
I had been working on the problem for weeks, and then I had a brainstorm and saw that the solution was easy.
A session of brainstorming, investigating a problem to try to find solutions.
An unexpected mental error.
Alternative form of brain storm (“activity in the brain, such as a seizure or convulsion”).
electrical brainstorm
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-n̥ Proto-Indo-European *mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s Proto-Germanic *bragną Proto-West Germanic *bragn Old English bræġn Middle English brayn English brain English storm English brainstorm From brain + storm. In the sense of "problem-solve", devised as a method of group creative problem-solving by advertising executive Alex F. Osborn and his employees, who coined the term based on the image of using "the brain to storm a problem". First use appears c. 1945. In the sense of "seizure, convulsion, brain activity", from the unrelated idea that it resembles a storm in the brain. First use appears c. 1861.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.