Brood definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BROOD, v.i.
1. To sit on and cover, as a fowl on her eggs for the purpose of warming them and hatching chickens, or as a hen over her chickens, to warm and protect them.
2. To sit on; to spread over, as with wings; as, to sit brooding over the vast abyss.
3. To remain a long time in anxiety or solicitous thought; to have the mind uninterruptedly dwell a long time on a subject; as, the miser broods over his gold.
4. To mature any thing with care.
BROOD, v.t. To sit over, cover and cherish; as, a hen broods her chickens.
1. To cherish.
You'll brood your sorrows on a throne.
BROOD, n. Offspring; progeny; formerly used of human beings in elegant works, and we have brother, from this word; but it is now more generally used in contempt.
1. A hatch; the young birds hatched at once; as a brood of chickens or of ducks.
2. That which is bred; species generated; that which is produced.
Lybia's broods of poison.
3. The act of covering the eggs, or of brooding. [Unusual.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English br?d; akin to Middle High German bruot brood and perhaps to Old English beorma yeast — more at barm Date: before 12th century 1. the young of an animal or a family of young; especially the young (as of a bird or insect) hatched or cared for at one time 2. a group having a common nature or origin 3. the children of a family II. adjective Date: 15th century kept for breeding <a brood flock> III. verb Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. a. to sit on or incubate (eggs) b. to produce by or as if by incubation ; hatch 2. of a bird to cover (young) with the wings 3. to think anxiously or gloomily about ; ponder intransitive verb 1. a. of a bird to brood eggs or young b. to sit quietly and thoughtfully ; meditate 2. hover, loom 3. a. to dwell gloomily on a subject b. to be in a state of depression • broodingly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 the young of an animal (esp. a bird) produced at one hatching or birth. 2 colloq. the children in a family. 3 a group of related things. 4 bee or wasp larvae. 5 (attrib.) kept for breeding (brood-mare). --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by on, over, etc.) worry or ponder (esp. resentfully). 2 a intr. sit as a hen on eggs to hatch them. b tr. sit on (eggs) to hatch them. 3 intr. (usu. foll. by over) (of silence, a storm, etc.) hang or hover closely. Derivatives: broodingly adv. Etymology: OE brod f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brood Brood, a. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brood Brood (br[=o]ch), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Brooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Brooding.] 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brood Brood (br[=oo]d), n. [OE. brod, AS. br[=o]d; akin to D. broed, OHG. bruot, G. brut, and also to G. br["u]he broth, MHG. br["u]eje, and perh. to E. brawn, breath. Cf. Breed, v. t.] 1. The young birds hatched at one time; a hatch; as, a brood of chickens. 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. To sit on brood, to ponder. [Poetic] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brood Brood (br[=oo]d), v. t. 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(broods, brooding, brooded) 1. A brood is a group of baby birds that were born at the same time to the same mother. N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. You can refer to someone's young children as their brood when you want to emphasize that there are a lot of them. ...a large brood of children. N-COUNT: usu sing [emphasis] 3. If someone broods over something, they think about it a lot, seriously and often unhappily. She constantly broods about her family... I continued to brood. Would he always be like this? VERB: V over/on/about n, V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Incubate, sit. 2. Lie outspread, lie incumbent, lie low. II. n. 1. Offspring, progeny, issue. 2. Breed, sort, kind, line, lineage, strain, extraction.

Moby Thesaurus

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