Brood Meaning
/bɹuːd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
nounThe young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time.
Sentence Examples
The hen keeps her brood under her.
To arms I call my comrades, and defy / the loathsome brood to battle.
A brood mare is a female horse used for breeding.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hen will ____ over her eggs until they hatch.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The mother hen had a large ____ of young chicks following her today.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As a hen doth gather her brood under her wings."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 13:34:
"Ay, lord, she will become thy bed, I warrant, / And bring thee forth brave brood."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
"Garland Green, the tenth in a brood of eleven, was born on June 24, 1942, in Dunleath, Mississippi."
— 1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 243:
"Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood […]"
— 1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 19”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
"As when with downcast eyes we muse and brood"
— 1833, Alfred Tennyson, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hen will ____ over her eggs until they hatch.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The mother hen had a large ____ of young chicks following her today.