noun
Brownie
BROW-nee
noun
1
A small, dense, usually fudgy chocolate cake cut into squares.
"She baked a batch of brownies for the school fair."
2
A junior member of the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts.
"Her daughter joined the local Brownies group at age seven."
How to Use Brownie
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither a chocolate cake square, or (capitalised) a young Girl Scout/Guide.
Common pairings
chocolate brownie
a batch of brownies
Word Forms
Brownies plural
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Etymology
The Girl Scout sense comes from an 1870 children's story about helpful, elf-like creatures called brownies; the cake sense arose separately in America around 1900, most likely just describing its brown colour.