brown

[ broun ]

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.

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

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English brūn; cognate with Dutch bruin, German braun, Old Norse brūnn; akin to Lithuanian brúnas; cf. bear², bruin

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, adjective
brownness, noun
o·ver·brown, verb
un·browned, adjective
well-browned, adjective

Other definitions for Brown (2 of 2)

Brown

[ broun ]

noun

Charles Brock·den [chahrlz-brok-duhn], /ˈtʃɑrlz ˈbrɒk dən/, 1771–1810, U.S. writer and intellectual, known as “the Father of the American novel.”
Clifford "Brownie", 1930–56, U.S. jazz trumpeter and composer.

Herbert Charles, 1912–2004, U.S. chemist, born in England: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1979.
Jerry Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr., born 1938, U.S. politician: governor of California 1975–83 and 2011–19.
Jim James Nathaniel Brown, 1936–2023, U.S. football player and actor: Pro Football Hall of Fame 1971.
John "Osawatomie Brown", 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, including Goodnight Moon.
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 noted for his pioneering work in paleobotany and palynology.

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

How to use brown in a sentence

Restaurant described latkes as “Mini hash browns,” which he thinks is why they are so universally beloved.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed | Emily Shire | December 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The St. Louis Browns employed one-armed Pete Gray in 1945 as an outfielder.
The Presidents Who Made America’s Sports | Evan Weiner | February 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Browns should be lauded for helping to keep their nephew on the right track while his mother was in prison.
Free Demaryius Thomas’s Mom After 14 Years on a Drug Charge | Michael Daly | January 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In Draft Day he will be the general manager of the NFL's Cleveland Browns struggling to sign a top draft pick.
Are We in the Midst of a Kevin Costner Comeback? | Andrew Romano | January 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And the Cleveland Browns were the first team to integrate in what was then the other league, the AAFL.
The ‘Tennessee Crackers’ Would Have Never Happened | Michael Tomasky | November 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Green Tail or Grannam, from six in the morning till eleven again in the evening, when the Browns are off.
The Teesdale Angler | R Lakeland
To render the Browns powerless to sustain their complaints, their letters were seized and their statements were denied.
The Loyalists of America and Their Times, Vol. 1 of 2 | Egerton Ryerson
The number of browns is great, as may be seen by the following list.
Field's Chromatography | George Field
His neckties were frazzeled and his socks were all earthy-browns and oat-meal grays.
The Varmint | Owen Johnson
What little sobriety and desire of improvement exists among the young men is chiefly confined, I am told, to the browns.
Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No 3, September 1863 | Various

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 clothing: dressed 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

Origin of brown

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

Derived forms of brown

brownish or browny, adjective
brownness, noun

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)

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