Brood \Brood\ (br[=o]ch), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Brooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Brooding.]

1. To sit on and cover eggs, as a fowl, for the purpose of warming them and hatching the young; or to sit over and cover young, as a hen her chickens, in order to warm and protect them; hence, to sit quietly, as if brooding. [1913 Webster]

Birds of calm sir brooding on the charmed wave. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

2. To have the mind dwell continuously or moodily on a subject; to think long and anxiously; to be in a state of gloomy, serious thought; -- usually followed by over or on; as, to brood over misfortunes. [1913 Webster]

Brooding on unprofitable gold. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Brooding over all these matters, the mother felt like one who has evoked a spirit. --Hawthorne. [1913 Webster]

When with downcast eyes we muse and brood. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

brooding \brood"ing\, a.

1. worried and thinking long and intensely, especially about a particular problem.

Syn: broody, contemplative, meditative, musing, pensive, pondering, reflective, ruminative, gloomy, morose. [WordNet 1.5]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

brooding \brood"ing\, a. good at incubating eggs, especially of a fowl kept for that purpose; as, a brooding hen.

Syn: brood, hatching. [WordNet 1.5]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

brooding \brooding\ n. the process of sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body; -- mostly used of birds.

Syn: incubation. [WordNet 1.5]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

brooding adj : persistently or morbidly thoughtful [syn: broody, contemplative, meditative, musing, pensive, pondering, reflective, ruminative]

noun

1: sitting on eggs so as to hatch them by the warmth of the body [syn: incubation]
2: persistent morbid meditation on a problem [syn: pensiveness]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Brood \Brood\ (br[=o]ch), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Brooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Brooding.]

1. To sit on and cover eggs, as a fowl, for the purpose of warming them and hatching the young; or to sit over and cover young, as a hen her chickens, in order to warm and protect them; hence, to sit quietly, as if brooding.

Birds of calm sir brooding on the charmed wave. --Milton.

2. To have the mind dwell continuously or moodily on a subject; to think long and anxiously; to be in a state of gloomy, serious thought; -- usually followed by over or on; as, to brood over misfortunes.

Brooding on unprofitable gold. --Dryden.

Brooding over all these matters, the mother felt like one who has evoked a spirit. --Hawthorne.

When with downcast eyes we muse and brood. --Tennyson.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)