Browning

UK: /ˈbraʊnɪŋ/ US: (brou′ning)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

Brown•ing  (brou′ning), n. 

Elizabeth Bar•rett  (bar′it), 1806–61, English poet.
1. Biographical John Moses, 1885–1926, U.S. designer of firearms.
2. Biographical Robert, 1812–89, English poet (husband of Elizabeth Barrett Browning).

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Browning / ˈbraʊnɪŋ/ noun

1. Elizabeth Barrett. 1806–61, English poet and critic; author of the Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850)
2. her husband, Robert. 1812–89, English poet, noted for his dramatic monologues and The Ring and the Book (1868–69)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

brown /braʊn/   n., adj., -er, -est, v. 

1. Physics the dark color of wood, with a slight yellowish or reddish hue:
   [uncountable] It was a beautiful brown, soft and yet strong.

adj. 

2. of the color brown:
   The brown gravy looked great on the potatoes.
3. having skin of this color:
   invited all people, white, yellow, brown and black, to join him.
4. sunburned or tanned:
   Her legs and back get brown in the summer.

v. 

5. to make or become brown: [no object]
   His skin browned through the summer.
   [~ + object]
   The sun browned his skin in the summer.
6. Food to fry, sauté, roast, etc., to a brown color: [no object]
   The chicken is browning nicely.
   [~ + object]
   Brown the pieces of chicken.
7. Electricity brown out, [~ + object] to subject to a brownout:
   The power failure browned out half of the state.

brown•ish, adj. 
brown•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

brown  (broun), n., adj., -er, -est, v. 
n. 

1. Physics a dark tertiary color with a yellowish or reddish hue.
2. Physical Anthropology a person whose skin has a dusky or light-brown pigmentation.

adj. 

3. of the color brown.
4. (of animals) having skin, fur, hair, or feathers of that color.
5. sunburned or tanned.
6. (of persons) having the skin naturally pigmented a brown color.
7. do it up brown, [Informal.] to do thoroughly:
   When they entertain, they really do it up brown.

v.t., v.i. 

8. to make or become brown.
9. to fry, sauté, or scorch slightly in cooking:
   to brown onions before adding them to the stew. The potatoes browned in the pan.
10. browned off, [Slang.] angry;
    fed up.
11. Electricity brown out, to subject to a brownout:
    The power failure browned out the southern half of the state.

• bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English brūn; cognate with Dutch bruin, German braun, Old Norse brūnn; akin to Lithuanian brúnas brown

brown′ish, brown′y, adj. 
brown′ness, n. 

Brown  (broun), n. 

Charles Brock•den  (brok′dən), 1771–1810, U.S. novelist.
1. Biographical Edmund Gerald, Jr. (Jerry), born 1938, U.S. politician: governor of California 1975–83.
2. Biographical James Nathaniel (Jimmy), born 1936, U.S. football player and actor.
3. Biographical John ("Old Brown of Osawatomie''), 1800–59, U.S. abolitionist: leader of the attack at Harpers Ferry, where he was captured, tried for treason, and hanged.
4. Biographical Olympia, 1835–1926, U.S. women's-rights activist and Universalist minister: first American woman ordained by a major church.
5. Biographical Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

browning / ˈbraʊnɪŋ/ noun

1. a substance used to darken soups, gravies, etc

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

brown / braʊn/ noun

1. any of various colours, such as those of wood or earth, produced by low intensity light in the wavelength range 620–585 nanometres
2. a dye or pigment producing these colours

adjective

1. of the colour brown
2. (of bread) made from a flour that has not been bleached or bolted, such as wheatmeal or wholemeal flour
3. deeply tanned or sunburnt

verb

1. to make (esp food as a result of cooking) brown or (esp of food) to become brown

Etymology: Old English brūn; related to Old Norse brūnn, Old High German brūn, Greek phrunos toad, Sanskrit babhru reddish-brown

ˈbrownish, ˈbrowny adjective

ˈbrownness noun