brown

[ broun ]

/ braʊn /

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See synonyms for brown on Thesaurus.com

noun

a dark tertiary color with a yellowish or reddish hue.

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

adjective, brown·er, brown·est.

of the color brown.

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

sunburned or tanned.

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

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become brown.

to fry, sauté, or scorch slightly in cooking: to brown onions before adding them to the stew. The potatoes browned in the pan.

Verb Phrases

brown out, to subject to a brownout: The power failure browned out the southern half of the state.

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Idioms about brown

browned off, Slang. angry; fed up.

do it up brown, Informal. to do thoroughly: When they entertain, they really do it up brown.

Origin of brown

before 1000; Middle English; Old English brūn; cognate with Dutch bruin,German braun,Old Norse brūnn; akin to Lithuanian brúnas brown

usage note for brown

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 WORDS FROM brown

brownish, browny, adjectivebrownness, nouno·ver·brown, verbun·browned, adjective

well-browned, adjective

Words nearby brown

brow antler, browband, browbeat, Browder, browed, brown, brown alga, brown algae, brown-and-serve, brown-bag, brown bagger

Other definitions for brown (2 of 2)

Brown

[ broun ]

/ braʊn /

noun

Charles Brock·den

[brok-duhn], /ˈbrɒk dən/, 1771–1810, U.S. novelist.

Clifford "Brownie", 1930–56, U.S. jazz trumpeter.

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

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

James Nathaniel "Jimmy", born 1936, U.S. football player and actor.

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

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

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

Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brown in a sentence

Classes are currently all online, though Brown suspects there may come a time when the idea of a hybrid model is possible.
Even the most cautious schools are seeing outbreaks|Sy Mukherjee|September 17, 2020|Fortune
As I spoke with Keenan last year, I looked out my own kitchen window onto hillsides of parkland, singed brown by months of dry summer heat.
Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration|by Abrahm Lustgarten, photography by Meridith Kohut|September 15, 2020|ProPublica
So, Brown said, we need to break down and reverse engineer the problem.
The Climate Crisis Is Happening Right Now. Just Look at California’s Weekend.|by Elizabeth Weil|September 9, 2020|ProPublica
Brown planned to compare the diets of coyotes from these two locations.
Are coyotes moving into your neighborhood?|Kathryn Hulick|September 3, 2020|Science News For Students

Brown declined to share numbers on the popularity of the Facebook News tab, but said nearly all of the readers are a new audience for publishers.
Facebook plans to block users in Australia from sharing news|Claire Zillman, reporter|September 1, 2020|Fortune
There was deep brown flesh, and bronze flesh, and pallid white flesh, and flesh turned red from the hot sun.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They became so brown and shriveled that they looked like walking beef jerky with New York accents.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The smell of grilled meat mixes with the exotic wafts of cinnamon tea served with a mush of sweet brown dessert.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Supreme Court eventually stepped in and ended legal segregation in the landmark 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education.
The ‘No Child’ Rewrite Threatens Your Kids’ Future|Jonah Edelman|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Estee Lauder has not crumbled to dust because the perfect brown face of Joan Smalls represents it.
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem|Danielle Belton|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The case was an assault and battery that came off between two men named Brown and Henderson.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
"There's just one thing I'd like to ask, if you don't mind," said Cynthia, coming suddenly out of a brown study.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
It separates into three layers upon standing—a brown deposit, a clear fluid, and a frothy layer.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
I pictured him as slim and young looking, smooth-faced, with golden curly hair, and big brown eyes.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Mr. Brown seizes the proffered member, and gives it as hearty a pressure as the publicity of the occasion will permit.
Physiology of The Opera|John H. Swaby (AKA "Scrici")

British Dictionary definitions for brown (1 of 2)

brown

/ (braʊn) /

noun

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

a dye or pigment producing these colours

brown cloth or clothingdressed in brown

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

adjective

of the colour brown

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

deeply tanned or sunburnt

verb

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

Derived forms of brown

brownish or browny, adjectivebrownness, noun

Word Origin for brown

Old English brūn; related to Old Norse brūnn, Old High German brūn, Greek phrunos toad, Sanskrit babhru reddish-brown

British Dictionary definitions for brown (2 of 2)

Brown

/ (braʊn) /

noun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with brown

brown

In addition to the idioms beginning with brown

brown bagger
browned off
brownie points
brown nose
brown study, in a

also see:

do up (brown)

brown

Idioms about brown

Origin of brown

usage note for brown

OTHER WORDS FROM brown

Words nearby brown

Other definitions for brown (2 of 2)

Words related to brown

How to use brown in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for brown (1 of 2)

Derived forms of brown

Word Origin for brown

British Dictionary definitions for brown (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with brown