1
- a family of young animals, typically birds, produced at one hatching or birth一窝（小动物, 尤指小鸟）：
a brood of chicks.
一窝小鸡。
1.1
- mass noun bee or wasp larvae幼蜂。
1.2
- informal all of the children in a family〈非正式〉（一家的）所有孩子：
she was brought up by a loving stepfather as part of a brood of eight.
她由慈爱的继父养大, 这位父亲总共拉扯大了八个孩子。
1.3
- a group of things or people having a similar character一类（事物）; 一伙, 一群（人）：
broods of sedentary clergymen.
几伙习惯于久坐的僧侣。
1
- no obj. think deeply about something that makes one unhappy沉思, 念念不忘（尤指不愉快的事）：
he brooded over his dead mother.
他念念不忘已故的母亲。
2
- with obj.(of a bird) sit on (eggs) to hatch them（鸟儿）孵（蛋）。
2.1
- (of a fish, frog, or invertebrate) hold (developing eggs) within the body（鱼, 青蛙或无脊椎动物）孕育（幼卵）。
词源
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 notion of a hen nursing chicks under her wings.