brown-bag

[ broun-bag ]

/ ˈbraʊnˈbæg /

Save This Word!

verb (used with object), brown-bagged, brown-bag·ging.

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

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

verb (used without object), brown-bagged, brown-bag·ging.

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

adjective

brought to work, usually in a small brown paper bag: a brown-bag lunch.

QUIZ

ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

true

false

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about brown-bag

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

OTHER WORDS FROM brown-bag

brown-bagger, noun

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

How to use brown-bag in a sentence

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
Drone: the largest tube of a bag-pipe, giving forth a dull heavy tone.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for brown-bag

brown bag

/ US /

noun

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

verb brown-bag -bags, -bagging or -bagged (intr)

to take a packed lunch in a brown bag

to carry alcohol in a brown bag

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