brooder: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal (literal/technical), Literary/Descriptive (figurative)
Quick answer
What does “brooder” mean?
A person who thinks persistently about something troubling.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A person who thinks persistently about something troubling; a device or enclosure for rearing young birds.
Primarily a device used in poultry farming to keep chicks warm, or a person who is habitually melancholy, deep in thought, or obsessive about a particular subject.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage is largely identical. Both use the technical poultry sense and the figurative 'melancholy thinker' sense.
Connotations
Similar connotations in both varieties. The figurative use may sound slightly more literary or old-fashioned.
Frequency
Low-to-medium frequency in both, more likely encountered in technical agriculture or literary contexts.
Grammar
How to Use “brooder” in a Sentence
be/become a brooderuse a brooder (for chicks)keep chicks in a brooderVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “brooder” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- Not applicable as a verb. The base verb is 'to brood'. e.g., 'He would brood for hours.'
American English
- Not applicable as a verb. The base verb is 'to brood'. e.g., 'She brooded over the mistake.'
adverb
British English
- Not applicable.
American English
- Not applicable.
adjective
British English
- Not standard as an adjective. Use 'brooding'. e.g., 'He had a brooding presence.'
American English
- Not standard as an adjective. Use 'brooding'. e.g., 'A brooding silence filled the room.'
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Rare, except in agribusiness contexts discussing poultry equipment.
Academic
Rare, may appear in literary or psychological analysis describing a character trait.
Everyday
Uncommon. More likely in rural settings (poultry) or descriptive conversation about personality.
Technical
Common in agriculture and animal husbandry for the device used to rear young poultry.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “brooder”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “brooder”
- Confusing 'brooder' (person/device) with 'brother'.
- Using the figurative sense in overly casual contexts where 'worrier' or 'overthinker' is more natural.
- Misspelling as 'brother'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is relatively uncommon. It is most frequently used in technical agriculture or in literary/descriptive language to label a personality type.
No. 'Brooder' is only a noun. The related verb is 'to brood' (e.g., 'to brood over a problem').
An incubator is primarily for hatching eggs by maintaining precise temperature and humidity. A brooder is used after hatching to provide warmth, protection, and sometimes food/water for the young chicks or poultry.
It is generally not complimentary. It suggests a person is overly introspective, moody, or preoccupied with negative thoughts, often to an unhealthy or unproductive degree.
A person who thinks persistently about something troubling.
Brooder is usually formal (literal/technical), literary/descriptive (figurative) in register.
Brooder: in British English it is pronounced /ˈbruːdə(r)/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈbruːdər/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “No direct idioms. Often appears in constructions like 'He's a bit of a brooder.'”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a BROODER: a hen (brooding) sitting on eggs, or a person BROODing over problems. Both provide warmth or attention to something - one to chicks, the other to negative thoughts.
Conceptual Metaphor
THINKING IS INCUBATING / A TROUBLED MIND IS A CONFINED SPACE. The figurative sense maps the physical warmth and containment of the device onto a mental state of inward-focused, persistent thought.
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the word 'brooder' LEAST likely to be used?