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• brown
  brown

  noun

  a dark tertiary color with a yellowish or reddish hue.
• Brown
  Brown

  noun

  Charles Brockden 1771–1810, U.S. writer and intellectual, known as “the Father of the American novel.”

brown

¹ American  

[broun] / braʊn /

noun

browns plural

1. a dark tertiary color with a yellowish or reddish hue.

2. Offensive. a person whose skin has a light- or dark-brown pigmentation.

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adjective

browner, comparative brownest superlative

1. of the color brown.

2. (of animals) having skin, fur, hair, or feathers of that color.

3. sunburned or tanned.

4. Often Offensive. (of human beings) having the skin naturally pigmented a brown color.

verb (used with or without object)

browns, present (3rd person singular) browned, past participle, past browning present participle

1. to make or become brown.

2. to fry, sauté, or scorch slightly in cooking.

   to brown onions before adding them to the stew. The potatoes browned in the pan.

verb phrase

1. brown out to subject to a brownout.

   The power failure browned out the southern half of the state.

idioms

1. browned off, angry; fed up.

2. do it up brown, to do thoroughly.

   When they entertain, they really do it up brown.

Brown ² American  

[broun] / braʊn /

noun

1. Charles Brockden 1771–1810, U.S. writer and intellectual, known as “the Father of the American novel.”

2. Clifford Brownie, 1930–56, U.S. jazz trumpeter and composer.

3. Herbert Charles, 1912–2004, U.S. chemist, born in England: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1979.

4. Jerry Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr., born 1938, U.S. politician: governor of California 1975–83 and 2011–19.

5. Jim James Nathaniel Brown, 1936–2023, U.S. football player and actor: Pro Football Hall of Fame 1971.

6. John Osawatomie Brown, 1800–59, U.S. abolitionist: leader of the attack at Harpers Ferry, where he was captured, tried for treason, and hanged.

7. Margaret Wise, 1910–52, U.S. author noted for early-childhood books, including Goodnight Moon.

8. Olympia, 1835–1926, U.S. women's-rights activist and Universalist minister: first American woman ordained by a major church.

9. Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist noted for his pioneering work in paleobotany and palynology.

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Brown ¹ British  

/ braʊn /

noun

1. Sir Arthur Whitten (ˈwɪt ^ə n). 1886–1948, British aviator who with J.W. Alcock made the first flight across the Atlantic (1919)

2. Ford Madox . 1821–93, British painter, associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings include The Last of England (1865) and Work (1865)

3. George ( Alfred ), Lord George-Brown. 1914–85, British Labour politician; vice-chairman and deputy leader of the Labour party (1960–70); foreign secretary 1966–68

4. George Mackay . 1921–96, Scottish poet, novelist, and short-story writer. His works, which include the novels Greenvoe (1972) and Magnus (1973), reflect the history and culture of Orkney

5. ( James ) Gordon . born 1951, British Labour politician; Chancellor of the Exchequer (1997–2007); prime minister (2007–10)

6. Herbert Charles . 1912–2004, US chemist, who worked on the compounds of boron. Nobel prize for chemistry 1979

7. James . 1933–2006, US soul singer and songwriter, noted for his dynamic stage performances and for his commitment to Black rights

8. John . 1800–59, US abolitionist leader, hanged after leading an unsuccessful rebellion of slaves at Harper's Ferry, Virginia

9. Lancelot , called Capability Brown . 1716–83, British landscape gardener

10. Michael ( Stuart ). born 1941, US physician: shared the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine (1985) for work on cholesterol

11. Robert . 1773–1858, Scottish botanist who was the first to observe the Brownian movement in fluids

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brown ² British  

/ braʊn /

noun

1. any of various colours, such as those of wood or earth, produced by low intensity light in the wavelength range 620–585 nanometres

2. a dye or pigment producing these colours

3. brown cloth or clothing

   dressed in brown

4. any of numerous mostly reddish-brown butterflies of the genera Maniola, Lasiommata , etc, such as M. jurtina ( meadow brown ): family Satyridae

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adjective

1. of the colour brown

2. (of bread) made from a flour that has not been bleached or bolted, such as wheatmeal or wholemeal flour

3. deeply tanned or sunburnt

verb

1. to make (esp food as a result of cooking) brown or (esp of food) to become brown

brown More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing brown

• do up (brown)

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Sensitive Note

Brown as a noun and adjective to describe people with a brownish skin color is often perceived as insulting. Historically it has been used by anthropologists and scientists as a racial and ethnic classification to describe various dark-skinned populations, as in North Africa, the Middle East, Malaysia, and South Asia. It is also a term associated with colonialism. In recent times, brown has been used of Hispanics and South Asians in North America, many of whom self-identify as brown.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• brownness
  noun
• overbrown
  verb
• brownish
  adjective
• browny
  adjective
• unbrowned
  adjective
• well-browned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• browns
  plural

Adjectives

• browner
  comparative
• brownest
  superlative

Participles

• browning
  present
• browned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• brown
  simple
• browns
  simple
• have browned
  perfect
• has browned
  perfect
• am browning
  progressive
• are browning
  progressive
• is browning
  progressive
• have been browning
  perfect progressive
• has been browning
  perfect progressive

Past

• browned
  simple
• had browned
  perfect
• was browning
  progressive
• were browning
  progressive
• had been browning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will brown
  simple
• will have browned
  perfect
• will be browning
  progressive
• will have been browning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of brown

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English brūn; cognate with Dutch bruin, German braun, Old Norse brūnn; akin to Lithuanian brúnas; cf. bear ² ( def. ), bruin ( def. )

Explanation

Brown is the color an artist gets by mixing yellow, red, and blue. Chocolate, dark wood, roasted coffee beans, and old-fashioned photographs are all various shades of brown. You might think of brown as a muddy color, and that's true in a couple of ways: mud is generally brown, and brown paint is a muddy combination of colors. In the category of brown, though, there's endless variety, from toasted bread to rich brown eyes to a horse's light brown mane. As a verb, brown means "to become browner in color" or "to make browner," as when you brown the top of a pie in the oven.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brown Brown browns browner brownest browned browning

The sight of scorched brown leaves has become a familiar view.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The subtropical southern Japanese region boasts some of the world's most biodiverse hubs of normally multicoloured coral, but a 2024 marine heatwave created "graveyards" of ghostly pale or sickly brown organisms.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

But naturally tall, with brown hair, a five o-clock shadow and muscular arms, he inevitably stood out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Hook’s coat turned from splotchy and brown to poofy and golden.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

I turn sixteen on my actual birthday, and Mom gets me the new swimsuit and the brown calf-high boots I wanted.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

By Chris Young Little, Brown and Company: 336 pages, $35 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Three blazes, which started Saturday, burned through 7,500 acres in what Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown called “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Jerry Brown signed into law a first-in-the-nation plan to gradually boost the state’s hourly minimum wage to $15 an hour, then adjust the wage annually based on inflation starting in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Brown said health came first and recognised James fans would be disappointed.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

He took a basket of grapes and a sympathy note to Lucretia, which he handed to Brown before going in to speak with Bliss and Woodward.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

They fell in love with the hash browns at Waffle House.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

As it turns out, even the most committed skeptic can be won over by a plate of greasy, crisp hash browns, a perfectly smoked brisket or a side of ranch.

From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026

Breakfast options include the sausage McMuffin, sausage biscuit, sausage burrito, hash browns, and a medium coffee—all at under $3 each.

From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026

The primary colors are drab grays and ugly browns.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

Subtle: just browns and yellows and hints of pale blue, but stitched with an attention to detail good enough for the king himself.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

It’s harder to see in browner waters, which makes it harder for fish to locate prey, escape from predators and find suitable habitat to live in.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

Mamdani's retort is that he's more like a Scandinavian politician, only browner.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

More than a few bore tans so dark that they were browner than me.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2025

Melanomas typically look darker or browner than basal cell carcinomas, Connolly said, but patients should bring any lesion they’re worried about to a dermatologist’s attention.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2024

The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller, and shorter, and they were beardless and bootless; their hands and feet were neat and nimble; and they preferred highlands and hillsides.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

“I’m not going to be supportive of defunding cultural events in the brownest city in Orange County and making the public choose between celebrating our culture or giving mutual aid,” said Councilmember Johnathan Hernandez.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025

"I'd look at certain celebrities who've got like white decor in the house, I'm like, 'who would choose white? I've gone for the brownest brown so that it hides the dirt," she said.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2024

Young, rich Stephen Carlton Clark had married Susan Hun, descendant of brownest, trimmest Albany ancestors.

From Time Magazine Archive

He ate the biggest, brownest and best parts of the chicken at every Sunday meal.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

In Hawaiian, “maka” means eyes, and Kumu Maka’s are the biggest and brownest.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil, add ground chicken and cook until almost browned, then pour in tomato sauce and let everything simmer.

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

The dish, made of browned ground beef, rice and basically whatever else you have on hand, has inspired hundreds of posts since January.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

It needs only a brief bloom — fragrant, not browned.

From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026

Case in point: Stevens’ recipe for a decadent baked, stuffed tomato that’s generously filled with herbed breadcrumbs, creamy stracciatella and browned chorizo.

From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026

Our potato tikkis have browned beautifully on both sides, sizzling with the aroma of cilantro and olive oil.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

But freshwater browning doesn’t affect all species of fish equally.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

Brook trout abundance was not affected by freshwater browning.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

The sight of browning, fallow land where prized wine grapes were grown has become more frequent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025

A set of chemical reactions called Maillard browning helps develop the complex, rich flavor profiles of animal meats while they cook.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024

Mist's dulling the gold leaves and browning the reds.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell