SKIP TO CONTENT

brooch

/broʊtʃ/
/brəʊtʃ/
IPA guide

Other forms: brooches; brooched

That fancy pin your Grandma used to wear on her blouse or lapel? It's a brooch, held in place by a sharp needle clasp.

Okay, it's a bit unfair to say Grandmothers alone wear brooches, but they do tend to be worn more by powerful older women — witness Margaret Thatcher and Madeleine Albright (both noted brooch wearers). Not surprisingly, brooch is derived from the old French word brooch, meaning "a long needle."

Definitions of brooch
  1. noun
    a decorative pin
    synonyms: breastpin, broach
    see moresee less
    types:
    sunburst
    a jeweled brooch with a pattern resembling the sun
    type of:
    pin
    a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment
  2. verb
    fasten with or as if with a brooch
    synonyms: clasp
    see moresee less
    type of:
    fasten, fix, secure
    cause to be firmly attached
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘brooch'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Commonly confused words

broach / brooch

To broach a subject is to bring it up. A brooch is a decorative pin. These words sound exactly the same! They rhyme with "coach." Both come from a word root meaning "something pointy," but the spelling brooch branched off as a word for the piece of jewelry.

Continue reading...

Word Family