brown up
B1 neutral separable both
In simple words
To go golden-brown when you cook something, like toast or fried onions.
Meanings
1 B1 neutral
To cook food until its surface becomes golden-brown.
"Brown up the onions in butter before adding the garlic."
Grammar: separable
2 B2 informal
To become tanned or darker in skin tone due to sun exposure.
"He browned up quickly in the southern sun."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
Common in cooking contexts, both in instructions (brown up the onions) and descriptions (the crust browned up nicely). Interchangeable with 'brown off' in culinary usage. Also used for skin tanning, though less common than 'tan up' or 'bronze up'.
Commonly used with
onions butter meat crust pastry skin
Forms
Base
brown up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
browns up
he/she/it
Past simple
browned up
yesterday
Past participle
browned up
have + pp
-ing form
browning up
continuous
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