Skip to main content
to brown

to brown

38 2.0
To make something a darker color by heat, for example when cooking or in the sun
  • verb
  • /braʊn/
: dorar
  • You should brown the ground beef in a skillet before adding it to the chili.
  • browned flour

Examples

  • We use the grill of BBQ to brown it to give it the last touch.

  • A little way off from the Reeds, sunbathers lie on yellow sand, browning their bodies.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Now, you see here, the secret is... to brown the meat until it's really crisp.

  • So you coat them and then you actually brown them in a pan.

  • You brown the brisket in the pot.

  • The Yorkshire's nicely browned, Mrs. Bridges.

  • Don't crowd the mushrooms, otherwise they won't brown.

  • Later, in the oven, the potato opens up like an accordion, browned, and delicious, believe me.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Waffles are browning.

  • Ladle a little of the mushroom broth into the browned flour and stir until dissolved.

    Academic text (1996)

Synonyms

to tan
vsto brown
22 1.0

To become darker in the sun

applies more generally to making that warm color by cooking heating or sun
to bronze
vsto brown
10 4.7

Make skin brown or golden, often in the sun

refers specifically to becoming that warm color especially from cooking heating or sun
to embrown
vsto brown
  • Archaic
9.9

To give something a brown color or to become brown

is the modern common form rather than an older variant

Antonyms

30 3.2

To make something lighter in color, often using chemicals or sunlight

10 2.8

Make or become more white in color

Idioms

To make someone suddenly need to go to the toilet after eating

Phrasal Verbs

to brown-nose
  • Offensive
5 8.2

To flatter someone in power without meaning it to get their favor

Compounds

37 1.0

Sugar that keeps some brown syrup, making it brown and a little sticky

29 1.0

A deep brown color like wood or earth

23 1.0

A pale brown color like dry sand in sunlight

18 3.2

A warm brown color that has a golden shine

15 1.2

A type of rice with its brown outer layer left on and a nuttier, chewier taste and more fiber

9 1.9

A large, powerful wild animal with brown fur that lives in forests in Asia and North America

A brown color with a hint of red

5 2.4

A simple paper bag used to carry a packed lunch

A brown color with a slight red tint

5 1.0

Having brown hair

4 1.0

A dark shade of brown like chocolate

3 1.0

A type of bread made from whole wheat flour that is darker and denser than white bread

A deep brown color like chocolate

2 2.5

A dark savory sauce made from soy sauce used in Chinese and other Asian cooking

brown noser
  • Offensive
2 8.5

A person who praises people in charge to get things they want

2 3.4

A freshwater fish with brown color and dark spots that lives in rivers

brown-noser
  • Offensive
2 8.3

A person who praises someone in charge too much to gain favor

code brown
  • Jargon
2 7.9

An alert telling staff to respond to a dangerous spill or escaped animal

2 4.8

A small bat that eats insects and lives in caves, trees and buildings worldwide

1 1.0

A brown color with a touch of red

1 2.0

A brown color mixed with gray

A brown color with a little red that often appears in hair or feathers

1 1.7

A brown colour with red or yellow tones that looks cosy

A medium to dark brown with a little yellow in it

1 7.7

A baked dessert of apples and bread crumbs, often sweet and spiced

1 2.0

A brownish yellow color like dry autumn leaves

1 3.2

A very dark brown color with a hint of black

Marked with brown lines

A brown color with a little green like a frog's skin

A medium yellow-brown color like caramel

brown thumb
  • Informal
1 7.9

A person who cannot grow plants successfully

brown algae
  • Specialized
1 4.8

Large sea algae, like kelp, that look brown or olive

1 3.4

A brown color that has some grey in it

1 2.7

A brown color with a touch of orange

1 2.9

Melted butter cooked until it turns brown and tastes nutty

1 5.3

A large brown songbird from the eastern United States that sings and copies other birds

1 3.2

A brown colour with a little green, often in eyes or hair

1 5.8

A soft brown material people burn to make heat or electricity

1 4.2

A brown color with a small touch of green like olives

1 2.9

A brown color that looks slightly purple

1 4.2

A light brown color like tanned leather

1 2.7

A grey color with a little brown in it

Father Brown
  • Literature
1 7.4

A Catholic priest who solves crimes in Chesterton's stories

big brown bat
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A large brown bat in North America that eats insects at night

Brown Swiss
  • Specialized
1 4.7

A large brown cow kept for milk that is strong, calm and lives well in different climates

1 2.8

A brown color with a red tint like old metal left outside

1 2.7

A light dull brown that looks slightly gray

1 2.1

A common rat that lives near people and damages food and buildings

1 8.3

A movement for rights and cultural pride for Hispanic, Latino, and South Asian people

1 2.7

A small garden snail with a brown shell and pale zigzag lines that eats plants

Having small brown spots often seen on eggs or feathers

1 3.7

A green color with a little brown mixed in

A brown color with a touch of purple

1 7.3

A large brown bird that sings in eastern North America with a long tail and streaked chest

1 2.5

A brown color with a red-orange tone

1 6.0

A small brown flying animal common in North America that sleeps in houses and forests

1 3.0

A brown color with a greenish tinge like green olives

A very large brown bear that lives on the coasts of Alaska and British Columbia

brown study
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A state of being deeply lost in thought

Dark brown with a little black

brown rot
  • Specialized
1 5.8

A disease caused by a fungus that makes fruit like peaches and plums turn brown and decay

1 3.9

A dark purple color mixed with brown

brown creeper
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A small North American songbird with a curved beak that climbs tree trunks to find insects

1 3.5

A savory dark sauce made from beef stock thickened with butter and flour and served with roast meat

brown hyena
  • South African
1 7.4

A shaggy brown African hyena that eats dead animals at night

1 8.6

A common grass with thin stems and narrow leaves that grows in wet meadows

brown bullhead
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A small freshwater catfish with whisker-like feelers and brownish skin found in the eastern United States

1 4.6

A light brown color with a little yellow

A small common North American bat that lives across the continent

A dark steamed bread made from cornmeal and molasses, often served warm

A small brown insect with thin wings whose larvae eat aphids

Vandyke brown
  • Specialized
1 8.7

A dark reddish brown color used in painting and art

brown cup
  • Specialized
9.9

A small brown mushroom that looks like a cup and grows on dead wood in damp places

How Brown

to char
59 4.6
to sear
32 6.1
to brown
38 2.0
to caramelize
  • Specialized
21 4.4
to tan
22 1.0

Surface Forms

brown infinitive
browned past
browned past participle
browning present participle
browns third person singular

Etymology

Brown as a verb comes from the color word that began as brun, meaning 'brown', so to 'brown' something is to make it that wood‑ or earth‑like color. That's why cooks tell you to 'brown' onions or meat to give them a deeper color and flavor.