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.
The new branch of Downing Street is currently operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre, whilst a brownfield site is redeveloped.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Volume growth and capex intensity of brownfield expansion could be a focus area given the recent lithium market volatility,” says the bank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The arena forms part of the Brabazon Park project, the redevelopment of brownfield land on the Bristol and South Gloucestershire border.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 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
As for the prospects of enticing producers to ramp up output to where it was a quarter-century ago, Brownfield said, “I just don’t see it, unless the U.S. basically bankrolls them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
"We were surprised to find that these specialized cells cannot do both jobs at once," says Douglas Brownfield, Ph.D., senior author of the study, which was published in Nature Communications.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2025
Grace Brownfield from the Money Advice Trust charity told the BBC losing benefits income made a "massive difference" to those affected.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2023
The hope, Brownfield says, is that with growing awareness of the history of residential boarding schools, young people can better understand what it means for their own families and communities in everyday life.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 10, 2022
On the bus ride home he hardly said a word to anyone, the gray shadows of Brownfield and Seagraves and Seminole and Andrews falling across his face like a fine mist.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
