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to brown

to brown

50 2.0
To make something a darker color by heat, for example when cooking or in the sun
  • verb
  • /braʊn/
translation icon : 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
7 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
3 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

50 3.2

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

8 2.8

Make or become more white in color

Idioms

1 9.9

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

Phrasal Verbs

to brown-nose
  • Offensive
4 8.2

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

Compounds

33 1.0

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

18 1.0

A deep brown color like wood or earth

16 1.0

A pale brown color like dry sand in sunlight

13 3.2

A warm brown color that has a golden shine

12 1.2

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

6 1.9

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

4 1.0

Having brown hair

3 2.4

A simple paper bag used to carry a packed lunch

A brown color with a hint of red

A deep brown color like chocolate

2 1.0

A dark shade of brown like chocolate

2 2.9

Melted butter cooked until it turns brown and tastes nutty

1 1.0

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

1 3.4

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

1 4.8

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

1 2.0

A brown color mixed with gray

1 1.0

A brown color with a touch of red

1 7.7

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

brown-noser
  • Offensive
1 8.3

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

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

big brown bat
  • Specialized
1 7.1

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

1 2.1

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

brown study
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A state of being deeply lost in thought

Brown Swiss
  • Specialized
1 4.7

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

1 5.8

A soft brown material people burn to make heat or electricity

brown thumb
  • Informal
1 7.9

A person who cannot grow plants successfully

1 3.2

A very dark brown color with a hint of black

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

1 3.2

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

A brown color with a slight red tint

1 2.8

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

1 2.7

A brown color with a touch of orange

1 4.2

A light brown color like tanned leather

1 1.7

A brown colour with red or yellow tones that looks cosy

1 2.0

A brownish yellow color like dry autumn leaves

Dark brown with a little black

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

brown cup
  • Specialized
9.9

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

A shiny brown glass used as a gemstone in jewelry

brown hickory
  • Specialized
9.6

A North American tree with smooth bark and bitter nuts

brown hyena
  • South African
7.4

A shaggy brown African hyena that eats dead animals at night

A small brown insect with thin wings whose larvae eat aphids

7.9

A small burrowing animal like a mouse with brown fur and a short tail from northwestern Canada and Alaska

brown noser
  • Offensive
8.5

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

brown oak
  • Australian
8.1

A large tree from Australia and nearby islands with broad leaves used for its wood

A brown sauce made from fried onions, wine or vinegar, and parsley, served with meat

brown pine
  • Australian
9.9

A large Australian tree with yellow wood that turns brown when cut

8.3

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

brown root rot fungus
  • Specialized
7.4

A fungus that infects plant roots and causes brown rot in crops like peas or potatoes

brown rot gummosis
  • Specialized
9.4

A disease of citrus trees caused by a fungus that makes bark brown and ooze sticky gum

brown rot
  • Specialized
5.8

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

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

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

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

brown soft scale
  • Specialized
8.5

A small brown insect that lives on plants, drinks their juice and weakens them

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

brown algae
  • Specialized
4.8

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

7.9

A North American tree with dark heavy wood and leaves that turn gold in autumn

9.9

A small wild plant in California with brownish bell-shaped flowers

8.6

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

9.9

A hangover after drinking too much beer

brown bullhead
  • Specialized
8.4

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

brown creeper
  • Specialized
8.1

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

5.3

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

brown town
  • Offensive
9.9

A funny phrase for having diarrhea or being in an embarrassing situation

A dark purple color mixed with brown

Having small brown spots often seen on eggs or feathers

Marked with brown lines

A small brown and white moth whose caterpillars eat the leaves of fruit and shade trees

2.7

A grey color with a little brown in it

A green color with a little brown mixed in

A light brown color with a little yellow

A medium yellow-brown color like caramel

How Brown

to char
53 4.6
to sear
76 6.1
to brown
50 2.0
to caramelize
  • Specialized
21 4.4
to tan
7 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.