/ bruːd; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
[ v ] brood (over / on / about sth) to think a lot about sth that makes you annoyed, anxious or upset :
You're not still brooding over what he said, are you?
2.
[ v , vn ] if a bird broods , or broods its eggs, it sits on the eggs in order to hatch them (= make the young come out of them)
■ noun [ C +sing./pl. v . ]
1.
all the young birds or creatures that a mother produces at one time
SYN clutch
2.
( humorous ) a large family of children
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English brōd , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch broed and German Brut , also to breed . Sense 1 of the verb was originally used with an object, i.e. to nurse (feelings) in the mind (late 16th cent.), a figurative use of the idea of a hen nursing chicks under her wings.