browse

[brouz]

verb (used with object)

browsed, browsing 

1. to eat, nibble at, or feed on (leaves, tender shoots, or other soft vegetation).

2. to graze; pasture on.

3. to look through or glance at casually or randomly.

   He's browsing the shelves for something to read.

   Synonyms: check, peruse, examine, skim, scan

4. 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, browsing 

1. to feed on or nibble at foliage, lichen, berries, etc.

2. to graze.

3. to glance at random through a book, magazine, etc.

4. to look leisurely at goods displayed for sale, as in a store.

5. to access and view websites with a Web browser, as in

   If you love to browse while on the road, you can easily take advantage of free Wi-Fi .

noun

1. tender shoots or twigs of shrubs and trees as food for cattle, deer, etc.

2. an act or instance of browsing.

browse

/ braʊz /

verb

1. to look through (a book, articles for sale in a shop, etc) in a casual leisurely manner

2. computing to search for and read hypertext, esp on the Internet

3. (of deer, goats, etc) to feed upon (vegetation) by continual nibbling

noun

1. the act or an instance of browsing

2. the young twigs, shoots, leaves, etc, on which certain animals feed

Other Word Forms

• browser noun
• nonbrowsing adjective
• overbrowse verb (used with object)
• unbrowsing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of browse¹

1400–50; late Middle English browsen, perhaps a verbal derivative of Anglo-French broz, plural of brot shoot, new growth, Old French brost < Old Low Franconian *brust bud, noun derivative of *brustjan; compare Old Saxon brustian to come into bud

Word History and Origins

Origin of browse¹

C15: from French broust, brost (modern French brout ) bud, of Germanic origin; compare Old Saxon brustian to bud

Example Sentences

On the festival’s central “avenue,” I browsed stands selling mycological games, art, tinctures and clothing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While hiking in a forest in the Mount Shasta area with a metal detector, browsing over rocks and dirt, his machine began to beep.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The scam has left potential customers feeling afraid, Ms Newman added, as she noticed more people browsing her website without making orders for jewellery.

Read more on BBC

He spends a lot of time reading academic journals and browsing GitHub portfolios, and recruiting people whose work impresses him.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“When you’re in Japan, they’re everywhere and you take them for granted. That’s how I would spend my days off. I would go to the stationery and browse and take my notebook and draw.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• flip through 
• leaf through 
• peruse 
• read 
• scan 
• skim