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.
Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith said the money would enable more affordable homes to be built on brownfield land.
From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025
“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
The report, in May 2024, added: "This proposal would redevelop a derelict and vacant, low quality brownfield site close to the Oxford Road Corridor."
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2025
That, however, was a brownfield site, rather than a city centre landmark.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 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.
