Meaning & use
brownstone
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Meanings
nouncountable
A house or apartment building, especially in New York, with a front made of reddish-brown stone and often steps leading up to the door.
Grammar: Countable: one brownstone, two brownstones. Often used with 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- a brownstone in <place>
- live in a brownstone
- a brownstone apartment
They rent a brownstone in Brooklyn with a small garden.
The brownstone has a wide stoop and tall windows.
Many brownstones in that neighborhood were built in the 1800s.
noununcountabletechnical
A reddish-brown sandstone used in building.
Grammar: Uncountable when talking about the material: 'made of brownstone', not 'a brownstone'.
Patterns
- made of brownstone
- brownstone quarries
The old church was built of brownstone.
The quarry supplied brownstone for many city buildings.
Word forms
| plural | brownstones |
|---|
Common combinations
- brownstone building
- The brownstone building on the corner is being renovated.
- brownstone stoop
- Neighbors sat on the brownstone stoop in the evening.
- brownstone neighborhood
- They moved to a quiet brownstone neighborhood.
- historic brownstone
- The historic brownstone attracts many visitors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- row house
- A row house is any house in a continuous row; a brownstone is a row house with a brownstone front, so 'brownstone' is more specific.
- townhouse
- A townhouse is a usually modern city house, often with several floors; 'brownstone' suggests an older, stone-fronted building.
Commonly confused: brownstone or brown field?
brownstone vs brown field
A brownfield is land previously used for industry; a brownstone is a building. They sound a little similar but mean very different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'brownstone' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Brownstone' is a type of building, so 'bought a small brownstone' fits. The other options treat it as food, clothing, or a verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “brownstone”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.