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brainstorm

Pronunciation: /ˈbɹeɪnstɔːm/

The English word “brainstorm” has 6 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To investigate something, or solve a problem using brainstorming.
  2. To participate in a brainstorming session.
  3. To think up (ideas); especially, to do so creatively.

noun

  1. A sudden thought, particularly one that solves a long-standing problem.
  2. A session of brainstorming, investigating a problem to try to find solutions.
  3. An unexpected mental error.

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…

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