Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

brown bag

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.59 in modern English

Syllables: brown bag
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A brown paper bag.

noun

A short presentation or seminar on a given subject, especially one given at lunchtime.

verb

To carry one's packed lunch from home, either literally or figuratively in a brown paper bag or a lunchbox, rather than purchase it from a cafeteria or restaurant.

Informal

verb

To consume alcohol in public from the bottle or can, while it is held concealed inside a brown paper bag, so as to avoid attention e.g. from the police.

Informal

verb

To plant seed saved from one's own harvest, as opposed to buying new seed from a seed company.

Informal

Example Sentences

"Did you attend the brown bag Tuesday on healthy exercise habits?"
"So what student would choose to work in Washington for zero compensation, with benefits listed as "brown-bags," "farewell reception" and "athletic and service opportunities"?"
"I'm brown bagging it again this month because the combination of healthy plus inexpensive is hard to beat otherwise."
"I'm brown bagging it again today because I haven't managed to kick this habit yet."
"I'm brown bagging it again this year because I don't need to be spending money on expensive hybrids."

Etymology

(presentation): From the brown paper bag traditionally used to carry one's own packed lunch from home.

Usage

Informal

Inflected Forms

brown bags (plural) brown-bag (alternative) brown bags (present, singular) brown bagging (participle, present) brown bagged (participle, past) brown bagged (past)

Derived Forms

brownbagger

Phrases

brown-bagger brown bag test brown paper bag party packaged goods package store

Frequently Paired Words

potluck packaged goods package store

Synonyms

lunch-and-learn

Questions

What does brown bag mean?: A brown paper bag.
Where does brown bag come from?: (presentation): From the brown paper bag traditionally used to carry one's own packed lunch from home.

How to pronounce brown bag

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