# brood

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɹuːd/ · frequency rank #20,863

## Definitions
1. The young of certain animals, especially a group of young birds or fowl hatched at one time by the same mother.
2. The young of any egg-laying creature, especially if produced at the same time.
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. The children in one family; offspring.
5. That which is bred or produced; breed; species.
6. Parentage.
7. Heavy waste in tin and copper ores.
8. A large number or crowd of people, animals, or objects.

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **bros** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-bros)
- **brow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-brow)
- **brown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-brown)
- **brook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-brook)
- **broom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-broom)
- **broth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-broth)
- **brows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-brows)
- **brooks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-brooks)
- **Brooke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brood-vs-brooke)
- **bro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bro-vs-brood)
- **boo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boo-vs-brood)
- **bod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bod-vs-brood)
- **book** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/book-vs-brood)
- **bond** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bond-vs-brood)
- **boom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boom-vs-brood)
- **bold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bold-vs-brood)
- **boot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boot-vs-brood)
- **brad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brad-vs-brood)
- **Boyd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boyd-vs-brood)
- **bred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bred-vs-brood)

## Common misspellings (7)
`bbrood`, `borod`, `brod`, `brodo`, `broodd`, `brrood`, `rbood`

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