# brainstorm

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈbɹeɪnstɔːm/ · frequency rank #34,805

## Definitions
1. To investigate something, or solve a problem using brainstorming.
2. To participate in a brainstorming session.
3. To think up (ideas); especially, to do so creatively.

## Etymology
From brain + storm. In the sense of "problem-solve", devised as a method of group creative problem-solving by advertising executive Alex F. Osborn and his employees, who coined the term based on the image of using "the brain to storm a problem". First use appears c. 1945. In the sense of "seizure, convulsion, brain activity", from the unrelated idea that it resembles a storm in the brain. First use appears c. 1861.

## Common misspellings (16)
`barinstorm`, `bbrainstorm`, `brainnstorm`, `brainsotrm`, `brainsstorm`, `brainstomr`, `brainstormm`, `brainstorrm`, `brainstrom`, `brainsttorm`, `braintsorm`, `braisntorm`, `branistorm`, `brianstorm`, `brrainstorm`, `rbainstorm`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/brainstorm