city & port in S Tex., on the Rio Grande: pop. 140,000
Origin:
after Fort Brown, named for Major J. Brown, killed in defending it (1846)
See Brownsville in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A city of southern Texas on the Rio Grande near its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a major port of entry served by a deepwater channel that accommodates oceangoing ships. Population: 172,000.