brown

verb

browned; browning; browns

intransitive verb

: to become brown

transitive verb

: to make brown

Examples of brown in a Sentence

Brown the chicken in a pan with butter.

Her skin was browned by the sun.

The chicken is browning in the oven.

Recent Examples on the Web

Add the garlic and cook until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. —Kelly McCarthy, ABC News, 8 June 2026

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until browned. —Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026

Turn down the heat if the chicken is browning too quickly. —Emily Weinstein, Twin Cities, 4 June 2026

Their coloring is all over the board, from very dark in some locales to brown, olive, and yellow. —Ken Perrotte, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing brown

• big brown bat
• brown alga
• brown bagging
• brown bear
• brown Betty
• brown bread
• brown coal
• brown dog tick
• brown earth
• brown-eyed Susan
• brown fat
• brown-headed cowbird
• brown lung
• brown pelican
• brown rat
• brown recluse spider
• brown rice
• brown rot
• brown sauce
• brown study
• brown sugar
• brown-tail moth
• brown tree snake
• brown trout
• golden-brown alga
• little brown bat
• nut-brown
• Vandyke brown

Rhymes for brown

• bown
• clown
• crown
• drown
• frown
• gown
• lown
• noun
• town
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown

Kids Definition

brown

1 of 3 adjective

ˈbrau̇n 

1

: of the color brown

2

: of dark or tanned complexion

3

: of or relating to any of various population groups considered to have medium skin color

brown

2 of 3 noun

: a color like that of coffee or chocolate that is a blend of red and yellow darkened by black

brownish

ˈbrau̇-nish 

adjective

brown

3 of 3 verb

: to make or become brown