/bɹuːd/, /bɹʉd/
OriginFrom 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”).
- countable, uncountableThe young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
“As a hen doth gather her brood under her wings.”
- uncountableThe young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time.
- countable, uncountableThe 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.
- countable, uncountableThe children in one family; offspring.
“Ay, lord, she will become thy bed, I warrant, / And bring thee forth brave brood.”
“Garland Green, the tenth in a brood of eleven, was born on June 24, 1942, in Dunleath, Mississippi.”
- countable, uncountableThat which is bred or produced; breed; species.
“[…] flocks of the airy brood,
Cranes, geese or long-neck'd swans, here, there, proud of their pinions fly […]”
“Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood […]”
- countable, uncountableParentage.
- countable, uncountableHeavy waste in tin and copper ores.
- countable, uncountableA large number or crowd of people, animals, or objects.
- not-comparableKept or reared for breeding.
“brood ducks”
“a brood mare”
- transitiveTo keep an egg warm to make it hatch.
“In some species of birds, both the mother and father brood the eggs.”
- transitiveTo protect (something that is gradually maturing); to foster.
“Under the rock was a midshipman fish, brooding a mass of eggs.”
- intransitive(typically with over, on or about) To dwell upon moodily and at length, mainly alone.
“He sat brooding about the upcoming battle, fearing the outcome.”
“As when with downcast eyes we muse and brood”
“Brooding over all these matters, the mother felt like one who has evoked a spirit.”
- intransitiveTo be bred.
Formsbroods(plural) · broods(present, singular, third-person) · brooding(participle, present) · brooded(participle, past) · brooded(past)