to eat, nibble at, or feed on (leaves, tender shoots, or other soft vegetation).
to graze; pasture on.
to look through or glance at casually or randomly: He's browsing the shelves for something to read.
to access and view (website content) with a Web browser, usually without looking for something specific: a secure way to browse the Web.
verb (used without object),browsed,brows·ing.
to feed on or nibble at foliage, lichen, berries, etc.
to graze.
to glance at random through a book, magazine, etc.
to look leisurely at goods displayed for sale, as in a store.
to access and view websites with a Web browser, as in mobile browsing; online browsing: If you love to browse while on the road, you can easily take advantage of free Wi-Fi .
noun
tender shoots or twigs of shrubs and trees as food for cattle, deer, etc.
an act or instance of browsing.
Origin of browse
1400–50;late Middle Englishbrowsen, perhaps a verbal derivative of Anglo-Frenchbroz, plural of brot shoot, new growth, Old Frenchbrost < Old Low Franconian*brust bud, noun derivative of *brustjan; compare Old Saxonbrustian to come into bud
Related formsbrows·er, nounnon·brows·ing, adjective, nouno·ver·browse, verb (used with object),o·ver·browsed,o·ver·brows·ing.un·brows·ing, adjectiveCan be confusedbrowsbrowse
mid-15c., "feed on buds," from Middle French brouster, from Old French broster "to sprout, bud," from brost "young shoot, twig," probably from Proto-Germanic *brustjan "to bud," from PIE *bhreus- "to swell, sprout" (see breast (n.)). Lost its final -t in English on the mistaken notion that the letter was a past participle inflection. Figurative extension to "peruse" (books) is 1870s, American English. Related: Browsed; browsing.
