brownstone

noun

brown·​stone ˈbrau̇n-ˌstōn How to pronounce brownstone (audio)
1
: a reddish-brown sandstone used for building
2
: a dwelling faced with brownstone

Examples of brownstone in a Sentence

She lives in a beautiful brownstone in Manhattan.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Some live in million-dollar brownstones and summer in Sag Harbor or Martha’s Vineyard. — Essence, 11 May 2026 To keep her family at bay, Alexandra barricades herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to blow up the whole block. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026 Apartment 308, a one-bedroom duplex, has triple exposures and oversize windows that overlook brownstone gardens. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 1 July 2026 The novel swirls around the Melancon family’s hunger to maintain their status from their crumbling brownstone, while forces from both without and within the family threaten their position. — Via Catapult, Literary Hub, 5 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for brownstone

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brownstone was in 1846

Rhymes for brownstone

See All Rhymes for brownstone

Browse Nearby Words

brown stock
brownstone
brown stringy rot
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Brownstone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brownstone. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

brownstone

noun
brown·​stone ˈbrau̇n-ˌstōn How to pronounce brownstone (audio)
1
: a reddish brown sandstone used for building
2
: a dwelling covered with a layer of brownstone
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All