brainstorm
UK /ˈbɹeɪnstɔːm/ · US /ˈbɹeɪnstɔɹm/ verb, noun
Forms brainstorms brainstorming brainstormed brain-storm brain storm
- verb (intransitive) To investigate something, or solve a problem using brainstorming.
- verb (intransitive) To participate in a brainstorming session.
- verb (transitive) To think up (ideas); especially, to do so creatively. “I need you to brainstorm some suggestions for next week's activity schedule.”
- noun (US) A sudden thought, particularly one that solves a long-standing problem. “I had been working on the problem for weeks, and then I had a brainstorm and saw that the solution was easy.”
- noun A session of brainstorming, investigating a problem to try to find solutions.
- noun (UK) An unexpected mental error.
Synonyms
Etymology
From brain + storm. In the sense of "problem-solve", devised as a method of group creative problem-solving by advertising executive Alex F. Osborn and his employees, who coined the term based on the image of using "the brain to storm a problem". First use appears c. 1945. In the sense of "seizure, convulsion, brain activity", from the unrelated idea that it resembles a storm in the brain. First use appears c. 1861.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “brainstorm”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details