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
a hen with her brood of chicks
2
: a group having a common nature or origin
the entire brood of chronicle plays—T. S. Eliot
3
: the children of a family
takes their brood to church every Sunday
: kept for breeding (see breed entry 1 sense 3)
a brood flock
brooded; brooding; broods
2
of a bird
: to cover (young) with the wings
3
: to think anxiously or gloomily about : ponder
I used to brood these things on my walk—Christopher Morley
1
a
of a bird
: to brood eggs or young
b
: to sit quietly and thoughtfully : meditate
3
a
: to dwell gloomily on a subject
brooded over his mistake
b
: to be in a state of depression
sat brooding in her room
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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