brown
Noun pluralbrowns
Pluralbrowns
Formsbrowns, browning, browned
- 1Having the color of chocolate, coffee, or dry earth.
Like the color of melted chocolate.
She wore a brown coat to school on cold days.
He has brown eyes and dark, curly hair.
UsageSay light brown or dark brown.
- 2A dark color like chocolate or coffee.
Like the color you see in a cup of coffee.
Brown is my favorite color for fall clothes.
She mixed red and green to make a muddy brown.
UsageSay dressed in brown.
Note
- 3To cook food until its surface turns brown.
Like leaving bread in the toaster until it turns golden.
Brown the onions in butter before adding the rice.
She browned the meat in a hot pan.
UsageRecipes say brown the meat or brown the onions.
Similarsear
Note
- 4To turn brown, or to make something turn brown, like a cut apple or skin in the sun.
Like a cut apple that slowly changes color when left out.
The apple slices began to brown after I cut them.
Leaves brown and fall when the weather gets cold.
UsageOften used with until: cook the onions until they brown.
Note
- 5Used about people with brown skin, such as people from Latin America, South Asia, or the Middle East.
The program supports brown and black students in science.
Our town is home to many brown residents.
Note
- 6A type of trout with a brownish body, often caught in rivers and streams.
He landed a big brown from the river at dawn.
The browns were biting well near the old bridge.
Less common meanings
- 7A person with brown skin, often someone whose family comes from Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, or South Asia.
He joked that he was the only brown in his whole office.
The activist said police stopped blacks and browns far more often.
UsageSay brown person, or name where the person's family is from.
Note
- 8A horse or other animal with a brown coat.
The rider saddled the brown for the morning trail.
Among the herd, the brown stood out from the gray mares.
Note
- 9A ball used in the game of snooker that is worth four points.
He potted the brown to extend his lead.
She potted the brown and then lined up an easy blue.
Note
- 10
- 11To slowly become, or make a place become, more Hispanic or Latino in its population.
Some politicians complained that newcomers would brown the whole region.
Census numbers showed the county browning as Latino families moved in.
UsageSay the Latino population is growing instead.
Note
- 12Bad for the environment, or against efforts to protect it.
Green means good for the planet. Brown is the opposite: bad for it.
Critics called the new policy brown and out of step with climate goals.
The company shed its brown image after switching to clean energy.
Oppositegreen
Note
- 13A coin made of copper, worth only a little.
"We've not had any breakfast,—won't you toss us down a brown?"— That's what they call a penny in the streets of London Town.
1883, “The Omnibus”, in London TownHere, a brown means a copper coin worth very little, like a penny.“To save a journey up the town, / A razor lent here for a brown: / But if you think the price too high, / I beg you won’t the razor try.”
1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London PoorHere, a brown means a copper coin worth very little, like a penny.Note
- 14Sad, dark, and gloomy in mood.
Note
- 15A kind of butterfly with mostly dark, dull-colored wings.
- 16To give metal a brown color by letting a thin, rust-like coating form on its surface.
- 17A group of birds or animals close together that someone shoots at all at once.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
From Old English brūn, meaning brown or dark. It goes back through old Germanic words to an ancient root.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Brown derives from Old English brūn, meaning brown or dark. en.wikipedia.org
- The word descends through earlier Germanic forms from an ancient root. en.wiktionary.org