brood 1 of 2

verb

Definition of broodnext
as in to hatch
to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop don't disturb the hen while she's brooding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

brood

2 of 2

noun

1
as in hatch

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
2
as in swarm

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brood
Verb
Sumptuous staging, by Mary Zimmerman, evokes the brooding chiaroscuro of Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings, while Didi Romero relishes every commedia dell’arte lazzo as the big-haired Duchessa. — Rhoda Feng, New Yorker, 24 July 2026 The show follows the dark, century-spanning relationship between brooding 1800s New Orleanian Louis de Pointe du Lac (played by Jacob Anderson) and his maker, Lestat de Lioncourt (played by Sam Reid). — Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Noun
Married for over 20 years to Luciana Barroso, Matt Damon's brood includes Luciana's daughter from a previous relationship, Alexia (now 27), as well as Isabella (20), Gia (17), and Stella (15). — Valentina Dirindin, Vanity Fair, 18 July 2026 That charm can wear thin, though, if a brood decides your yard is home base. — Rachel Silva, Martha Stewart, 18 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for brood
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brood
  1. hatch
  2. offspring
  3. swarm
  4. spawn
  5. progeny
  6. colony
  7. sit
  8. seed
Verb
  • Their efforts to hatch and raise offspring at their nest in Big Bear Valley in Southern California became popular with millions of live cam viewers.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Though Jackie hatched a decade earlier and 70 miles away, her parents also were named Lucy and Ricky.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hatch
Noun
  • In front, Palo Alto 30-somethings bob in the waves on their surfboards, cheered on by their WASPy spouses clad in linen tunics, who keep half an eye on their salty-haired offspring hunting for seashells on the beach.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Unusually for insects, the polyphagous shot-hole borer does not require a male to produce offspring.
    — Jack Bantock, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of offspring
Noun
  • Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on Russia this year, with long-range missiles and swarms of drones targeting military industries and energy facilities.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Hundreds of thousands of collisions would happen every year, each unleashing its own swarm of hazardous, high-speed orbital shrapnel.
    — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of swarm
Verb
  • The Row’s comb necklace graced the runway a few seasons ago and spawned the creation of many more.
    — Daisy Shaw-Ellis, Vogue, 18 Aug. 2026
  • While their 1971 debut, ZZ Top’s First Album, failed to chart or spawn any noteworthy singles, the group steadily developed a reputation on the road.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of spawn
Noun
  • This renunciation has had little impact on their progeny, who already studied them for years and viewed their content as a portrait of a viable future.
    — Margaux MacColl, Vanity Fair, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Two rising progeny of big names sharing space on a call sheet would be surreal enough, but the series that small screen impresario Ryan Murphy adapted from the novel by Bret Easton Ellis goes one step further.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 30 July 2026
Definition of progeny
Noun
  • Best Culturelle probiotics This effective Culturelle digestive health probiotic contains 12 billion colony-forming units of bacteria.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • As Amziah demonstrates during this lesson, the queen is the center of the universe and without her, the colony would collapse.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of colony
Verb
  • Los Angeles City Council members on Tuesday approved a resolution to remove 12 anti-camping zones around Hollywood, ending a years-long ban that prevented people from sitting, sleeping or camping in certain areas.
    — Brittney Ermon, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Videos posted on social media show sellers at Tehran and Karaj wholesale markets sitting beside their fresh produce, waiting to sell goods like melons, watermelons, pears, bananas and grapes, but with no-one arriving to buy it.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of sit
Noun
  • Key Takeaways Eating raw sunflower seeds is a simple way to enjoy their benefits, including vitamin E, magnesium, and healthy fats.
    — Lauren Panoff, Verywell Health, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Apollo Atomics has raised $31 million in seed funding to push its compact nuclear reactor technology toward commercial deployment.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of seed

Browse Nearby Words

bronzes
brood
brood (about or over)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brood.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brood. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on brood

Nglish: Translation of brood for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of rigmarole

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All