brownfield

B3R1O1W4N1F4I1E1L1D2

noun

A site, to be used for housing or commerce, that has been previously used for industry and may be contaminated or need extensive clearing.

“a brownfield project”

Less commonScrabble 19

Meanings

brownfield1

nounbrownfield (plural brownfields)

plural brownfields

  1. attributiveoftenA site, to be used for housing or commerce, that has been previously used for industry and may be contaminated or need extensive clearing.

    The depot will occupy a 75-acre brownfield site.

    2021 September 22, “Network News: Washwood Heath: three shortlisted”, in RAIL, number 940, page 17
    2 more examples

    My budget will improve our environment by accelerating the cleanup of toxic brownfields.

    2001, George W. Bush, State of the Union Address

    On such a densely-populated island, most infrastructure projects are on brownfield sites, rather than starting in pastures new.

    2011 December 2, “Crossrail: The other side of the track”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 22 Oct 2020
adjectivebrownfield (not comparable)
  1. not comparablecomputingBeing a development that has to integrate with legacy systems.

    a brownfield project

    1 more example

    Brownfield development is probably the most common situation for developers to be in, and in order for business to continue, an existing application infrastructure is necessary.

    2014, Ola Ellnestam, Daniel Brolund, The Mikado method, Shelter Island, NY: Manning, →ISBN

Brownfield2

proper nounBrownfield (plural Brownfields)

plural Brownfields

Origin

Translations

Czech brownfield
  • brownfieldpreviously industrial site for development
Finnish teollinen joutomaa, entinen teollisuusalue
  • teollinen joutomaapreviously industrial site for development
  • entinen teollisuusaluepreviously industrial site for development
French zone de friche, site pollué
  • zone de frichepreviously industrial site for development
  • site polluépreviously industrial site for development
German Brachfläche, Altstandort
  • Brachflächepreviously industrial site for development
  • Altstandortpreviously industrial site for development
Polish teren poprzemysłowy
  • teren poprzemysłowypreviously industrial site for development
Welsh tir llwyd
  • tir llwydpreviously industrial site for development
Cite this entry
APA

brownfield. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brownfield

MLA

“brownfield.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brownfield. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brownfield,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brownfield.

Source: brownfield on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.