brook

brook — noun

1. a small natural stream that flows across land, often in the countryside

1.nounA2
Definition

a small natural stream that flows across land, often in the countryside

Example

A narrow brook ran behind the apple trees near the farm.

brook runs through + place

Children from the village looked for frogs in the shaded brook.

Common collocations
  • quiet brook
  • shallow brook
  • bridge over a brook
  • brook behind the farm
  • cross a brook
Synonyms
  • stream

    the broad everyday word for flowing water of this kind

  • creek

    common in North American English for a small waterway

  • rivulet

    more literary and usually suggests an even smaller flow

Grammar Patterns

a brook runs through + place

cross a brook

bridge over a brook

Usage Note

Often appears in writing about woods, farms, and other country places. In everyday speech, many speakers use stream or, in North American English, creek more often.

Common Mistakes

The road crossed a small brook river.
The road crossed a small brook.
brook already names this kind of small waterway, so river is unnecessary.

brook — verb

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For this sense, brook is a nature-focused word for a small flow of water in the countryside. Stream is the most general everyday choice and works in both ordinary speech and writing. Creek is especially common in North American English and often sounds more local or practical than brook. River refers to a larger body of flowing water, so it does not fit a narrow line of water behind a farm or through a wood. Choose brook when you want a gentle country picture: A narrow brook ran behind the farm. In everyday American speech, many people would more naturally say The kids fished in the creek after school.

brook ↗stream ↗creek ↗river ↗

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Modern English brook brings together two older words that ended up with the same spelling. The noun came from Old English broc, meaning a stream, and it was linked to older Germanic words connected with marshy ground. The verb came from Old English brucan, which first meant use or enjoy. That verb later developed the idea of being able to stomach something, and from there it reached the modern sense of tolerating or allowing it. So the water word and the formal verb look the same today, but they come from different historical roots.