brood
Plural: broods
Noun
- the young of an animal cared for at one time
- 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.
Verb
Verb Forms: brooded, brooding, broods
- To think deeply about something in a gloomy or troubled way.
- think moodily or anxiously about something
- hang over, as of something threatening, dark, or menacing
- "The terrible vision brooded over her all day long"
- be in a huff and display one's displeasure
- be in a huff; be silent or sullen
- sit on (eggs)
- "Birds brood"
- To keep an egg warm to make it hatch.
- To protect (something that is gradually maturing); to foster.
- (typically with over, on or about) To dwell upon moodily and at length, mainly alone.
- To be bred.
Adj
- Kept or reared for breeding.
Examples
- a brood mare
- After a bad play, he tended to BROOD over his lost points instead of focusing on the next turn.
- brood ducks
- He sat brooding about the upcoming battle, fearing the outcome.
- In some species of birds, both the mother and father brood the eggs.
- Under the rock was a midshipman fish, brooding a mass of eggs.
Origin / Etymology
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”).
Scrabble Score: 8
brood: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbrood: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
brood: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 9
brood: valid Words With Friends Word