1. The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time and cared for by the same mother. See synonyms at flock1. 2. The children in one family.
VERB:
Inflected forms: brood·ed, brood·ing, broods
TRANSITIVE VERB:
1. To sit on or hatch (eggs). 2. To protect (young) by or as if by covering with the wings.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:
1. To sit on or hatch eggs. 2. To hover envelopingly; loom. 3a. To be deep in thought; meditate. b. To focus the attention on a subject persistently and moodily; worry: brooded over the insult for several days.c. To be depressed.
ADJECTIVE:
Kept for breeding: a brood hen.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English brd. See bhreu- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:
brooding·ly —ADVERB
SYNONYMS:
brood, dwell, fret1, mope, stew, worry These verbs mean to turn over in the mind moodily and at length: brooding about his decline in popularity; dwelled on her defeat; fretted over the loss of his job; moping about his illness; stewing over her upcoming trial; worrying about the unpaid bills. See also synonyms at flock1.
br
d
d. See bhreu- in Appendix I.
ing·ly —ADVERB
