brown
brown eyes
having the colour of earth, wood, or coffee
brown eyes
Oxford Essential Dictionary
brown
adjective, noun (browner, brownest)
having the colour of earth or wood:
brown eyes
I go brown (= my skin becomes brown) as soon as I sit in the sun.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
brown
I. brown1 S2 W2 /braʊn/ BrE AmE adjective
[Language: Old English; Origin: brun]
1. having the colour of earth, wood, or coffee:
dark brown hair
2. having skin that has been turned brown by the sun:
He’d been on vacation and looked very brown.
He was as brown as a berry after two weeks in the sun.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ types of brown
▪ light/pale brown a light brown jacket
▪ dark/deep brown dark brown eyes
▪ warm brown a warm brown shade
▪ rich brown a rich brown colour
▪ reddish brown The earth was reddish brown.
▪ golden brown Cook until the cheese is golden brown.
▪ rusty brown (=an orange-brown colour) It was autumn and the leaves were already rusty brown.
▪ muddy brown the muddy brown water of the river
▪ chestnut brown (=a red-brown colour) a beautiful chestnut brown horse
▪ chocolate brown He was wearing a chocolate brown pullover.
II. brown2 BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
the colour of earth, wood, or coffee:
This particular model is available in brown, white, or grey.
the browns and greens of the landscape
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
brown
brown [brown browns browned browning browner brownest] adjective, noun, verb [braʊn] [braʊn]
adjective (brown·er, brown·est)
1. having the colour of earth or coffee
• brown eyes
• brown bread
• dark brown shoe polish
• a package wrapped in brown paper
2. having skin that is naturally brown or has been made brown by the sun: (BrE) I don't go brown very easily.
• After the summer in Spain, the children were brown as berries.
Word Origin:
Old English brūn, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bruin and German braun.
Example Bank:
• The once-green fields were now uniformly brown.
• a lovely warm brown colour
• her dark brown eyes
• monkeys with bright brown fur
• He looked very brown after the cruise.
• bright brown eyes
• lovely warm browns and golds
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
brown / braʊn / noun [ C or U ]
A1 the colour of chocolate or soil:
dark/light brown
brown adjective
A1
Both my parents have curly brown hair.
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
brown
/braʊn/
(browner, brownest, browns, browning, browned)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is brown is the colour of earth or of wood.
...her deep brown eyes...
The stairs are decorated in golds and earthy browns.
COLOUR
2.
You can describe a white-skinned person as brown when they have been sitting in the sun until their skin has become darker than usual.
I don’t want to be really really brown, just have a nice light golden colour.
= tanned
ADJ: usu v-link ADJ
3.
A brown person is someone who belongs to a race of people who have brown-coloured skins.
...a slim brown man with a speckled turban.
ADJ: usu ADJ n
4.
Brown is used to describe grains that have not had their outer layers removed, and foods made from these grains.
...brown bread.
...spicy tomato sauce served over a bed of brown rice.
≠ white
ADJ: usu ADJ n
5.
When food browns or when you brown food, you cook it, usually for a short time on a high flame.
Cook for ten minutes until the sugar browns...
He browned the chicken in a frying pan.
VERB: V, V n
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1brown /ˈbraʊn/ adj -er; -est
1 : having a color like coffee or chocolate
• a brown cow
• The door was brown.
2 : having dark or tanned skin
• workers whose backs are brown from long hours in the sun
