Broach vs. brooch: what is the difference?

The short answer

Broach and brooch are pronounced the same way but never mean the same thing. Broach is a verb meaning to bring up a sensitive or difficult topic for discussion, as in she finally broached the subject of the overdue rent. Brooch is a noun for a decorative pin, usually fastened to clothing, as in she wore a silver brooch on her collar. The two words are not related in origin, despite looking almost identical.

• Broach: to bring up a topic, a verb
• Brooch: a decorative pin, a noun

What each word means

Broach originally meant to pierce or open something, such as a cask of wine, and that sense survives in its modern meaning of opening up a topic that had not yet been discussed, often because it is awkward, sensitive, or likely to provoke an uncomfortable reaction from the listener.

Brooch refers to a piece of jewelry with a pin or clasp on the back, worn on a lapel, collar, or scarf. It is entirely unrelated in meaning to broach, even though the two share a pronunciation and much of their spelling, and brooches are often passed down as family heirlooms across generations.

Broach and brooch in context

He was nervous about how to broach the topic of a pay raise with his manager, not: he was nervous about how to brooch the topic of a pay raise with his manager. The sentence is about raising a delicate subject in conversation, so broach is correct, and brooch would make no grammatical sense in that position at all.

Her grandmother left her an antique brooch shaped like a bird, not: her grandmother left her an antique broach shaped like a bird. The sentence names a specific piece of jewelry that was inherited, so brooch is needed; broach cannot function as a noun naming a physical object of this kind in standard usage.

Common mistakes to avoid

Because broach and brooch sound identical, writers sometimes default to whichever spelling looks more familiar, which leads to sentences like broach the sensitive subject being misspelled with two o's, or the jewelry being written as a single-o broach. Checking whether the sentence involves a conversation, a topic, or a physical object clears up the choice immediately, without needing to memorize a rule.

• Broach is a verb about raising a topic
• Brooch is a noun naming a piece of jewelry
• Ask whether the sentence is about talking or wearing something

Remember it

Brooch rhymes visually with the double o in jewelry-adjacent words like broom or loop, and it names an object you can hold and pin to your clothes. Broach has a single o and is an action word, something you do in conversation with another person. If the sentence involves opening up a subject, drop the second o and use broach instead.