Word.ws English Dictionary

broody

/ˈbɹuːdi/

broody adjective: of birds: sitting persistently and protectively on a nest, in order to hatch eggs.

Adjective

broody (comparative broodier or more broody, superlative broodiest or most broody)

  1. Of birds: sitting persistently and protectively on a nest, in order to hatch eggs.
    • a broody hen
    Synonyms:
    clucky
  2. Of any creature or person: showing an interest in raising young.
    • “Clayton's getting so broody. This might help put things into perspective for him. I want a family, but I need to establish my career first."
      "I'm not in a rush," Clayton countered.
      "You practically teared up at the sight of Serena's tiny socks the other day. You've got baby fever bad."2017 December 14, Julia Sykes, Nice and Naughty: A Christmas Collection, Julia Sykes
  3. Brooding, dwelling upon one's thoughts; moody.
    • Then, with unshorn beard and matted hair tangled with straw, his clothes smeared with slime of obscene things which are begotten of damp and darkness, his thoughts broody with wrath and revenge, Kynon was marched through the streets[…]1875, Thomas Burnside Crowther, Anderida: Or, the Briton and the Saxon, A.D. CCCCXLI., page 195
    • He didn't even give me one of his broody looks that gave nothing away about his thoughts at all (except the fact he was broody). He gave me a look I'd never seen on him before. A remorseful one.2020 March 10, Kristen Ashley, Mathlida, Superwitch Rise of the Dark Lord, Rock Chick LLC
  4. Gloomy.
    • Broody clouds hung low against the water. None of this bothered the jBoat sailors, whose nimble craft challenged devilish winds and currents. A pod of twenty-two footers raced and frolicked like ten-year-olds on skateboards.2003 08, Sabra Morgan, The Majesty of Trees, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 104
    • The contrast between broody clouds and condensed sky was startling. Fenn stepped off the path into rough grass to get near one of the church windows and, cupping a hand between brow and glass, peered in. There was an unappealing gloom[…]2011 May 11, James Herbert, Shrine: Now a Major Film Called The Unholy – the Novel Is Even More Terrifying, Pan Macmillan, →ISBN

Noun

broody (plural broodies)

  1. A female bird in the condition to incubate eggs; a broody hen, duck, etc.
    • There are six broodies in that coop.

broody meaning in Tamil, Punjabi and Persian

broody in Tamil

கருத்தில் ஆழ்கிற

broody in Punjabi

broody
سیوا

broody in Persian

female bird in the condition to incubate eggs
کرچ korč

Examples of broody in a sentence

  • He could be a little broody at times, especially when his thoughts were focused on school, class, a project, or hunting.2022 February 25, Robert Hugh Williams, A Yooper's Tale: Death by Wendigo, Page Publishing Inc, →ISBN:
  • As the sky darkened more, the wind was rising and there were shafts of sunlight stabbing down from the broody clouds, painting silver swords on patches of the sea.2019 October 12, Lesley Choyce, Broken Man on a Halifax Pier, Dundurn, →ISBN, page 160:
  • The sky was dark and broody, which matched his thoughts perfectly.2020 June 9, Vannetta Chapman, Dana R. Lynn, A Perfect Amish Match and Amish Haven, Harlequin, →ISBN:

Synonyms of broody

Forms of broody

Adjective
comparativebroodier
comparativemore broody
superlativebroodiest
superlativemost broody
Noun
pluralbroodies

Origin of broody

From Middle English *brody, *brodi, from Old English brōdiġ (“broody”), equivalent to brood + -y. Cognate with German brütig (“broody”).

Words formed from broody

Words that rhyme with broody

Questions about broody

What does broody mean?
Broody means of birds: sitting persistently and protectively on a nest, in order to hatch eggs.
What is broody in Tamil?
Broody in Tamil is கருத்தில் ஆழ்கிற. See Broody meaning in Tamil.
How do you use broody in a sentence?
He could be a little broody at times, especially when his thoughts were focused on school, class, a project, or hunting.
What part of speech is broody?
Broody can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce broody?
Broody is pronounced /ˈbɹuːdi/.

Words near broody in the dictionary

  1. broodsome
  2. broodstock
  3. broodstocks
  4. broodstrain
  5. broodstrains
  6. broody
  7. broogh
  8. brooghs
  9. brook
  10. brook alder
  11. brook alders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: broody (page history and authors); broody (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); سیوا (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-broody.wav.

Cite this entry: “broody.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/broody. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.