- Sir Arthur Whitten ( ˈwɪtən ). 1886–1948, British aviator who with J.W. Alcock made the first flight across the Atlantic (1919)
- Ford Madox. 1821–93, British painter, associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings include The Last of England (1865) and Work (1865)
- George (Alfred), Lord George-Brown. 1914–85, British Labour politician; vice-chairman and deputy leader of the Labour party (1960–70); foreign secretary 1966–68
- George Mackay. 1921–96, Scottish poet, novelist, and short-story writer. His works, which include the novels Greenvoe (1972) and Magnus (1973), reflect the history and culture of Orkney
- (James) Gordon. born 1951, British Labour politician; Chancellor of the Exchequer (1997–2007); prime minister (2007–10)
- Herbert Charles. 1912–2004, US chemist, who worked on the compounds of boron. Nobel prize for chemistry 1979
- James. 1933–2006, US soul singer and songwriter, noted for his dynamic stage performances and for his commitment to Black rights
- John. 1800–59, US abolitionist leader, hanged after leading an unsuccessful rebellion of enslaved people at Harpers Ferry, Virginia
- Lancelot, called Capability Brown. 1716–83, British landscape gardener
- Michael (Stuart). born 1941, US physician: shared the Nobel prize for physiology or medicine (1985) for work on cholesterol
- Robert. 1773–1858, Scottish botanist who was the first to observe the Brownian movement in fluids
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Brown /braʊn/ n
brown /braʊn/USA pronunciation
n., adj., -er, -est, v.
adj.
v.
brown•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Physics the dark color of wood, with a slight yellowish or reddish hue:[uncountable]It was a beautiful brown, soft and yet strong.
adj.
- of the color brown:The brown gravy looked great on the potatoes.
- having skin of this color:invited all people, white, yellow, brown and black, to join him.
- sunburned or tanned:Her legs and back get brown in the summer.
v.
- to make or become brown: [no object]His skin browned through the summer.[~ + object]The sun browned his skin in the summer.
- Foodto fry, sauté, roast, etc., to a brown color: [no object]The chicken is browning nicely.[~ + object]Brown the pieces of chicken.
- Electricity brown out, [~ + object] to subject to a brownout: The power failure browned out half of the state.
brown•ness, n. [uncountable]
brown
(broun),USA pronunciation n., adj., -er, -est, v.
n.
adj.
v.t., v.i.
brown′ish, brown′y, adj.
brown′ness, n.
Brown (broun),USA pronunciation n.
n.
- Physicsa dark tertiary color with a yellowish or reddish hue.
- Physical Anthropologya person whose skin has a dusky or light-brown pigmentation.
adj.
- of the color brown.
- (of animals) having skin, fur, hair, or feathers of that color.
- sunburned or tanned.
- (of persons) having the skin naturally pigmented a brown color.
- do it up brown, [Informal.]to do thoroughly:When they entertain, they really do it up brown.
v.t., v.i.
- to make or become brown.
- to fry, sauté, or scorch slightly in cooking:to brown onions before adding them to the stew. The potatoes browned in the pan.
- browned off, [Slang.]angry;
fed up. - 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′ness, n.
Brown (broun),USA pronunciation n.
- Biographical Edmund Gerald, Jr. (Jerry), born 1938, U.S. politician: governor of California 1975–83.
- Biographical James Nathaniel (Jimmy), born 1936, U.S. football player and actor.
- 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.
- Biographical Olympia, 1835–1926, U.S. women's-rights activist and Universalist minister: first American woman ordained by a major church.
- Biographical Robert, 1773–1858, Scottish botanist.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
brown /braʊn/ n
- any of various colours, such as those of wood or earth, produced by low intensity light in the wavelength range 620–585 nanometres
- a dye or pigment producing these colours
- of the colour brown
- (of bread) made from a flour that has not been bleached or bolted, such as wheatmeal or wholemeal flour
- deeply tanned or sunburnt
- to make (esp food as a result of cooking) brown or (esp of food) to become brown
'Brown' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Alcock
- aldrin
- almond
- amber
- ampersand
- auburn
- aventurine
- axis
- Ayrshire
- baize
- barn owl
- bauxite
- bay
- bear
- beaver
- beeswax
- beechnut
- beige
- Benét
- bib
- bile
- birthmark
- biscuit
- bistre
- black bear
- blackbird
- black-eyed Susan
- bladderwrack
- blesbok
- bobcat
- bongo
- bontebok
- borlotti bean
- boron
- brambling
- brand
- brick red
- brindled
- bronze
- brown bear
- brown coal
- brown dwarf
- brown fat
- brownie
- brown paper
- brown rice
- Brown Shirt
- brownstone
- brown sugar
- Abyssinian banana