Brownstone
//ˈbɹaʊnˌstoʊn// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A variety of brown to red-brown sandstone once popular as a building material. uncountable
- 2 a row house built of brownstone; reddish brown in color wordnet
- 3 A row house built of brownstone, especially in New York City. countable
"Lived in a brownstone, lived in the ghetto, I’ve lived all over this town."
- 4 a reddish brown sandstone; used in buildings wordnet
Verb
- 1 To scour (steps) with a donkey stone. historical, transitive
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"She lives in a brownstone in a gentrified neighborhood of New York."
Etymology
From brown + stone.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.