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• brown-bag
  brown-bag

  verb (used with object)

  to bring (one's own liquor) to a restaurant or club, especially one that has no liquor license.
• brown bag
  brown bag

  noun

  a bag made of brown paper, often used for carrying a packed lunch or alcohol

brown-bag

American  

[broun-bag] / ˈbraʊnˈbæg /

verb (used with object)

brown-bagged, brown-bagging

1. to bring (one's own liquor) to a restaurant or club, especially one that has no liquor license.

2. to bring (one's lunch) to work or elsewhere, usually in a small brown paper bag.

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verb (used without object)

brown-bagged, brown-bagging

1. to carry one's lunch in a brown paper bag.

adjective

1. brought to work, usually in a small brown paper bag.

   a brown-bag lunch.

idioms

1. brown-bag it, to bring one's lunch to work or elsewhere, especially in a brown paper bag.

brown bag British  

noun

1. a bag made of brown paper, often used for carrying a packed lunch or alcohol

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verb

1. to take a packed lunch in a brown bag

2. to carry alcohol in a brown bag

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• brown-bagger
  noun

Etymology

Origin of brown-bag

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

He collects a brown bag and agrees to let us join him for the ride.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

Agents were seen placing at least one item from outside the building into a brown bag.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

Diarte, who wore a long-sleeved red shirt that read “Daddy Elf,” heated alphabet soup to put in a pink thermos for Melody, while Perez put oranges into a brown bag for the 17-year-old.

From Los Angeles Times • May 25, 2023

They might have to nod their way through a brown bag lunch.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2022

Late that night she packed the brown bag and shoved it far under the bed.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson