A brood is most commonly a group of young birds or animals born or hatched at the same time to the same parent, and it can also mean a family’s children or the act of thinking anxiously for a long time.

Main meanings

  • Group of young animals : A brood is a set of baby birds or other animals that hatch or are born together to one mother, like “a hen and her brood of chicks.”
  • Family’s children : Informally, “brood” can mean all the children in one family, for example “She came in with her whole brood.”
  • To think anxiously (verb) : As a verb, “to brood” means to dwell on something in a worried or gloomy way, such as “He sat by the window and brooded about his future.”

Quick usage examples

  • “The duck led her brood across the pond.” (young animals)
  • “They have quite a brood of kids at home.” (family’s children)
  • “Try not to brood over past mistakes.” (thinking gloomily)

In short, as a noun , “brood” is a group of young animals or a bunch of kids in one family, and as a verb , it is to sit on eggs or to worry and think deeply about something for a long time.