brood.
The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
Meaning & usage
The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
The young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time.
The eggs and larvae of social insects such as bees, ants and some wasps, especially when gathered together in special brood chambers or combs within the colony.
The children in one family; offspring.
That which is bred or produced; breed; species.
Parentage.
Heavy waste in tin and copper ores.
A large number or crowd of people, animals, or objects.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English brood, brod, from Old English brōd (“brood; foetus; breeding, hatching”), from Proto-Germanic *brōduz (“heat, breeding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“breath, mist, vapour, steam”).
Kept or reared for breeding.
brood ducks
a brood mare
Where this word comes from
From Middle English brood, brod, from Old English brōd (“brood; foetus; breeding, hatching”), from Proto-Germanic *brōduz (“heat, breeding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“breath, mist, vapour, steam”).
To keep an egg warm to make it hatch.
In some species of birds, both the mother and father brood the eggs.
To protect (something that is gradually maturing); to foster.
Under the rock was a midshipman fish, brooding a mass of eggs.
(typically with over, on or about) To dwell upon one's thoughts moodily and at length, mainly alone.
He sat brooding over the upcoming battle, fearing the outcome.
To be bred.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English brood, brod, from Old English brōd (“brood; foetus; breeding, hatching”), from Proto-Germanic *brōduz (“heat, breeding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“breath, mist, vapour, steam”).
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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.