I. brown 1 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.
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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. brown 2 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
III. brown 3 BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
1 . to heat food so that it turns brown, or to become brown by being heated:
First, brown the meat in a pan.
2 . to become brown because of the sun’s heat, or to make something brown in this way:
The children’s faces were browned by the sun.
3 . browned off British English informal annoyed or bored SYN fed up :
They are getting browned off by the situation.