graze

¹ American  

[greyz] / greɪz /

verb (used without object)

grazed, grazing

1. to feed on growing grass and pasturage, as do cattle, sheep, etc.

2. Informal. to eat small portions of food, as appetizers or the like, in place of a full-sized meal or to snack during the course of the day in place of regular meals.

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verb (used with object)

grazed, grazing

1. to feed on (growing grass).

2. to put cattle, sheep, etc., to feed on (grass, pastureland, etc.).

3. to tend (cattle, sheep, etc.) while they are at pasture.

graze ² American  

[greyz] / greɪz /

verb (used with object)

grazed, grazing

1. to touch or rub lightly in passing.

2. to scrape the skin from; abrade.

   The bullet just grazed his shoulder.

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verb (used without object)

grazed, grazing

1. to touch or rub something lightly, or so as to produce slight abrasion, in passing.

   to graze against a rough wall.

noun

• grazes
  plural

1. a touching or rubbing lightly in passing.

2. a slight scratch, scrape, or wound made in passing; abrasion.

graze ¹ British  

/ ɡreɪz /

verb

1. to allow (animals) to consume the vegetation on (an area of land), or (of animals, esp cows and sheep) to feed thus

2. (tr) to tend (livestock) while at pasture

3. informal to eat snacks throughout the day rather than formal meals

4. informal to eat

5. informal (intr) to switch between television channels while viewing without watching any channel for long

6. to pilfer and eat sweets, vegetables, etc, from supermarket shelves while shopping

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noun

1. informal a snack; something to eat

graze ² British  

/ ɡreɪz /

verb

1. to brush or scrape (against) gently, esp in passing

2. (tr) to break the skin of (a part of the body) by scraping

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noun

1. the act of grazing

2. a scrape or abrasion made by grazing

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• grazer
  noun
• grazeable
  adjective
• grazingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• grazes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of graze¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English grasen, Old English grasian, derivative of græs grass

Origin of graze²

First recorded in 1350–1400; perhaps special use of graze ¹

Explanation

Cows graze on grass, and people graze on snacks and finger foods. Graze can also mean to scrape, like when you graze your elbow after falling off your bike. Graze means "to feed on grass" as sheep, horses, cows, do in a meadow — they eat a little at a time, but constantly. People sometimes graze too, munching on small snacks all day long instead of having a real meal. It also means “to touch lightly,” like when I pitch a baseball to you — and I accidentally hit your arm. With luck, the ball only grazed you, meaning you aren't hurt at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

graze grazes grazed grazing

And in its forests and on its grasslands, tule elk and mule deer graze, while bobcats and coyotes hunt for rabbits and mountain beavers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

"Because it's a place for people, for picnics, for livestock to graze," he told AFP, giving only his first name for security reasons.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

There, locals take 4x4s to rest on pristine beaches where sea turtles nest and sheep graze.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

The rising sun bathes the rolling Herefordshire hillsides in a warm glow as birds gently chirp and sheep graze in the fields.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

The kids didn’t have to take the cattle too far to graze.

From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

Fresh from his latest victory, Nolan reaches for the stars and grazes the Gods.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

“Everyone else died or moved away,” said Mr. Puhalo, gesturing to empty homes scattered across the rocky hills around the family land where he grazes his sheep.

From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

Following a decade living in Portland, Ore., “I just want it to feel like Southern California,” he says as he grazes a palm over a salvia plant, releasing its aroma.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024

Injuries ranged from cuts and grazes to fractures and head traumas, a report from the Department for Transport said.

From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2023

After a few more tries, I’m about ready to throw the dumb thing across the room, when my finger grazes the slightest little bump on the spine of the book.

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Fields and forests have been left unmanaged, with shrubs and plants growing where livestock once grazed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

"One of the first things we are doing is getting volunteers to pick up litter. We want to make sure it can be effectively grazed."

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

The ball grazed his glove before bouncing squarely on his noggin and over the wall.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

But he was run out in an unlucky manner when a shot from Rana grazed Henry's hand and deflected onto the stumps at the non-striker's end.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

Rishi took off her glasses with a gentleness that made her want to cry; his fingers barely grazed the sides of her face.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Management of moors and heaths to "reduce the fuel loads" could help, he said, as well as grazing, but: "The public can do so much because they're all started by people basically."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

With fewer grazing animals and less vegetation lost to natural wildfires, biomass accumulated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

Thanks to their grazing, he believed his farm was still standing, even if he knew "the surrounding plots were reduced to ash".

From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026

Even more sobering for me was the sight of another Bentley grazing the hay bales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Lush tall grasses spread as far as the eye could see, a rolling green expanse that was disturbed only by a few small, rusted oil pumps and by cattle grazing here and there.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• ricochet
• rub
• scrape
• scratch
• skim
• skip