A body of running water smaller than a river; a small stream.
"The hikers followed the narrow brook as it wound through the dense forest."
In plain English: A brook is a small, shallow stream of flowing water that usually empties into a larger body like a river or lake.
"The brook flowed gently over the smooth stones in its bed."
put up with something or somebody unpleasant
"I cannot bear his constant criticism"
"The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"
"he learned to tolerate the heat"
"She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage"
To bear; endure; support; put up with; tolerate (usually used in the negative, with an abstract noun as object).
"She could not brook any delay in starting their journey."
In plain English: To brook means to refuse to accept something unpleasant without complaining about it.
"He would brook no argument with his boss about the new schedule."
Usage: Use "brook" to mean tolerating something unpleasant, but remember it is almost always found in negative constructions like "cannot brook." Do not confuse this verb with the noun form referring to a small stream when describing one's patience or endurance.
A habitational surname, from Middle English for someone living by a brook.
"The census records show that several residents of the village shared the habitational surname Brook after their ancestral homes near the stream."
The word brook comes from Old English, where it originally meant to enjoy or use something. Its roots trace back through Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European languages to the concept of enjoyment.