Broody
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A female bird in the condition to incubate eggs; a broody hen, duck, etc.
"There are six broodies in that coop."
- 2 a domestic hen ready to brood wordnet
- 1 Of birds: sitting persistently and protectively on a nest, in order to hatch eggs.
"a broody hen"
- 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.""
- 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[…]"
- 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."
- 1 deeply or seriously thoughtful wordnet
- 2 physiologically ready to incubate eggs wordnet
Example
More examples"“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.""
Etymology
From Middle English *brody, *brodi, from Old English brōdiġ (“broody”), equivalent to brood + -y. Cognate with German brütig (“broody”).
Related phrases
More for "broody"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.