Auburn is a reddish-brown color, like the shade of polished mahogany wood or autumn leaves touched by frost. When someone has auburn hair, it's brown with warm red or copper tones running through it, catching the light with hints of rust and amber.

You'll see auburn used mostly to describe hair color, though it can describe anything with that distinctive warm brown-red combination. An auburn sunset might paint the sky with deep russet tones. A craftsperson might stain wood an auburn shade to bring out its natural warmth. The color sits between plain brown and obvious red, sophisticated enough that people often describe it as elegant or striking.

As a noun, auburn is the color itself: “The leaves turned a rich auburn.”