brown

brown — adjective

1. showing a shade like wood, coffee, or earth.

1.adjectiveA1
Definition

showing a shade like wood, coffee, or earth.

Example

Bao chose brown curtains for the room above the bakery.

brown + noun for colour

The horse has a brown back and two white legs.

Common collocations
  • brown eyes
  • brown hair
  • brown paper
  • brown shoes
  • turn brown
Synonyms
  • tan

    usually lighter, and often used for skin or leather

  • beige

    paler and softer than most browns

  • chestnut

    a richer red-brown shade, often for hair or wood

Antonyms
  • white

    the clearest opposite for a dark earth-like shade

  • pale

    broader opposite for a much lighter colour

Grammar Patterns

brown + noun

be/look/turn brown

Usage Note

Regular colour use before a noun and after verbs like 'be', 'look', and 'turn'. Distinguish from noun/1, where the word names the colour itself.

Common Mistakes

I bought a brown color bag.
I bought a brown bag.
Before a noun, 'brown' already works as the adjective, so 'color' is unnecessary.

2. used for skin that is brown by nature or made darker by the sun.

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

used for skin that is brown by nature or made darker by the sun.

Example

After ten beach days, Yuri came home brown and tired.

be brown after sun exposure

The baby has brown skin like her father.

brown skin

Common collocations
  • brown skin
  • get brown
  • look brown
  • brown from the sun
Synonyms
  • tanned

    stresses a darker colour caused by the sun

  • sun-browned

    more descriptive and less common

  • dark-skinned

    broader; does not always mean brown specifically

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be/look brown

brown skin

get brown in the sun

Usage Note

Usually appears after 'be', 'look', or 'get', and it talks about skin rather than clothes or objects. Distinguish from sense 3, which is about identity or communities.

3. relating to people, groups, or culture described as Brown, especially those with

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to people, groups, or culture described as Brown, especially those with South Asian, Middle Eastern, or Latin American roots.

Example

The exhibit showed work by Brown artists from Delhi and Houston.

Brown + noun for identity or culture

A Brown youth group organized the street festival in Queens.

Common collocations
  • Brown artists
  • Brown community
  • Brown families
  • Brown identity
  • Brown writers
Synonyms
  • brown-skinned

    describes physical appearance, not identity or culture

  • of color

    much broader and not limited to Brown communities

  • Latinx

    fits some US Brown communities, but not South Asian or Middle Eastern ones

Grammar Patterns

Brown + noun

Brown people / families / writers

Brown identity / culture

Usage Note

Often written with a capital B when it names identity, culture, or community. Distinguish from sense 2, which describes a person's skin tone rather than a social label.

Common Mistakes

The course studies brown history in California.
The course studies Brown history in California.
In identity and culture meanings, many writers use a capital B.
Idioms

in a brown study

idiom

Thinking so deeply that you do not notice what is happening around you.

Mia sat in a brown study, ignoring her ringing phone.

Why is Diego in a brown study during the meeting?

brown — noun

brown — verb

Word family

  • brownish
    adjectiveB2
  • brownness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Brown' is the broad everyday word for this colour, so it fits hair, shoes, eyes, paper, soil, and wooden things. 'Tan' is usually lighter and often suggests skin or leather, so 'tan boots' or 'tan skin' sounds more natural than 'tan coffee'. 'Beige' is paler and softer, especially in clothes, walls, and design. 'Chestnut' points to a richer red-brown shade and is common for hair, horses, and polished wood. 'Auburn' is narrower still: it is mainly for reddish-brown hair, not for tables or bags. In most learner situations, choose 'brown' first: 'brown shoes', 'a brown dog', 'the leaves turned brown'. Use the others when the exact shade matters.

brown ↗tan ↗beige ↗chestnutauburn ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • dark brown
  • golden brown
  • light brown

Phrases

  • shade of brown
  • turn brown

Prepositions

  • brown with (sun / age / smoke)

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

English 'brown' came through Middle English from Old English 'brun' or 'brun'. It belongs to an old Germanic family of colour words for dark brown shades. The adjective is the oldest use; later English also used the same word as a noun for the colour and as a verb for becoming brown or making something brown.