brood

noun

• a family of young animals, especially of a bird, produced at one hatching or birth:a brood of chicks
• bee or wasp larvae.
• informal all of the children in a family:he was the youngest in a brood of six figurativea remarkable brood of writers

verb

• 1 [no object] think deeply about something that makes one unhappy:he brooded over his need to find a wife

• 2 [with object] (of a bird) sit on (eggs) to hatch them.
• (of a fish, frog, or invertebrate) hold (developing eggs) within the body.

• 3 [usually followed by over] (of silence, a storm, etc.) hang or hover closely:a winter storm broods over the lake

adjective

• (of an animal) kept to be used for breeding:a brood mare