brood

CEFRB2

/bɹuːd/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To think unhappily about something for a long time.

  2. 02

    noun

    A group of young birds or animals born together.

Examples

  • A brood mare is a female horse used for breeding.

  • The hen keeps her brood under her.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /bɹud/
  • /bɹʉːd/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. 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.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.

  2. The young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time.

More examples

In context

  • To arms I call my comrades, and defy / the loathsome brood to battle.

  • […] flocks of the airy brood, Cranes, geese or long-neck'd swans, here, there, proud of their pinions fly […]

  • a brood mare

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The hen will blank over her eggs until they hatch.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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”).