A piece of industrial or commercial property that is abandoned or underused and often environmentally contaminated, especially one considered as a potential site for redevelopment.
Compare greenfield
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A number of companies own different parts of the land, including brownfield developer NPL Group, explosives manufacturer Chemring Energetics and smaller property development firms.
From BBC • May 3, 2026
Jay recalled the hype around King Charles' visit in 2013 as work took place to turn one of Europe's biggest brownfield sites into a thriving community.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026
STM Brighton Group, a subsidiary company of Revantage, has undertaken remediation work at the brownfield site since it was acquired in 2008.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026
“AT&T has clearly made its case and not just with brownfield conversions but out-of-footprint M&A,” he wrote at the time.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 22, 2025
Today, the former brownfield is a popular bird-watching spot.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
