brood

/bɹuːd/

//bɹuːd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"brood" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“brood” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,863. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,863
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brood · brood · English

brood · rank #20,863 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,863
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH brighten

Nearest frequency peer: brighten (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “brood”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “brood” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

brood vs bros
60% similar
brood vs brow
60% similar
brood vs brown
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for brood
PropertyValue
Headwordbrood
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɹuːd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#20,863
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brood”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).broodlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “brighten” (#20,862), “bridging” (#20,861), “borrower” (#20,860). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brood” is #20,863. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around brood (IPA /bɹuːd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,863 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for brood, with forms such as "bbrood", "borod", and "brod". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bros", "brow", "brown", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English brood, brod, from Old English brōd (“brood; foetus; breeding, hatching”), from Proto-Germanic *brōduz (“heat, breeding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“breath, mist, vapour, steam”). The correct English form is brood, spelled B-R-O-O-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
  2. 2
    The young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time.
  3. 3
    The eggs and larvae of social insects such as bees, ants and some wasps, especially when gathered together in special brood chambers or combs within the colony.
  4. 4
    The children in one family; offspring.
  5. 5
    That which is bred or produced; breed; species.
  6. 6
    Parentage.
  7. 7
    Heavy waste in tin and copper ores.
  8. 8
    A large number or crowd of people, animals, or objects.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how brood appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As a hen doth gather her brood under her wings.
  2. Ay, lord, she will become thy bed, I warrant, / And bring thee forth brave brood.

Etymology

From Middle English brood, brod, from Old English brōd (“brood; foetus; breeding, hatching”), from Proto-Germanic *brōduz (“heat, breeding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“breath, mist, vapour, steam”).

This word in other languages

cría(Español)couvée(Français)ninhada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrood
  • borod
  • brod
  • brodo
  • broodd
  • brrood
  • rbood

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of brood - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbrood1borod2brod1brodo2broodd1brrood1rbood2
Edit distance from "brood"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "brood"?
"brood" is spelled B-R-O-O-D. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹuːd/.
What does "brood" mean?
As a noun, "brood" means: The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
What words are commonly confused with "brood"?
"brood" is commonly confused with "bros", "brow", "brown". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brood"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brood" is /bɹuːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "brood"?
From Middle English brood, brod, from Old English brōd (“brood; foetus; breeding, hatching”), from Proto-Germanic *brōduz (“heat, breeding”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“breath, mist, vapour, steam”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "brood", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chemo#20,880Colby#20,883André#20,833dandy#20,898

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

ceases7 variantsattest7 variantswiggle7 variantsstair7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list