Brown is a warm, earthy color you see everywhere in nature: in tree bark, rich soil, chocolate, and the fur of bears and deer. It's made by mixing colors like red, yellow, and black together, or orange and blue.

Brown doesn't shine or demand attention like bright red or electric blue. Instead, it's the color of things that feel solid and dependable: wooden furniture, leather boots, a warm loaf of bread fresh from the oven. When artists paint forests or mountains, they use many shades of brown to show tree trunks, autumn leaves, and rocky cliffs.

People describe things as brown when they're toasted or cooked: browned butter has a nutty flavor, and meat gets a brown crust when you sear it in a hot pan. Eyes can be brown, from light amber to deep chocolate. Hair can be brown in countless shades.

Brown can also mean damaged or dying, like how grass turns brown in a drought. And if you brown-bag your lunch, you're bringing it from home in a brown paper bag. When people talk about having a brown thumb instead of a green thumb, they're joking that they kill plants instead of helping them grow.