Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

brownfield

play
noun, often attributive brown·field \ˈbrau̇n-ˌfēld\

Definition of brownfield

  1. :  a tract of land that has been developed for industrial purposes, polluted, and then abandoned

Read the Latest from M-W

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz
image1694077559
Which Is The Correct Plural Spelling? (It's a Trick Question)
alt-5924736949123
Does This Common Computer Term Actually Reference Shoes?

1977

First Known Use of brownfield

1977

Law Dictionary

brownfield

play
noun brown·field \ˈbrau̇n-ˌfēld\

Legal Definition of brownfield

  1. :  a tract of land that has been developed for industrial purposes, polluted, and then abandoned

Learn More about brownfield

  1. See words that rhyme with brownfield

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up brownfield? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

inanition

play

an exhausted condition

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. suborn "to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing"

  2. nutjob 'a mentally unbalanced person'

  3. collusion 'Secret cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose'

  4. counsel Is it 'council' or 'counsel'?

  5. witch hunt Lookups spiked after Trump used the word in a tweet

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

brownfield

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
  • What language does pajama come from?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image1694077559
Plural Words With Multiple Spellings

Multiple spellings for "multiple" words.

alt-5924736949123
Does This Common Computer Term Actually Reference Shoes?

These reboots were made for walking

alt-592453dea3986
Read on to Become Part of the Dictionary 'Illuminati'

Secrets will be revealed.

alt-592333459542f
How 'Namaste' Entered The English Language

"I bow to you"

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz

Do you know what languages these words come from?

Take the quiz
wide-eyed-dog-smelling-rose
What's that Smell?! Quiz

Words for odors and such...

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game