browser

American  

[brou-zer] / ˈbraʊ zər /

noun

1. a person or thing that browses.

2. Digital Technology. a software program that allows the user to find and read encoded documents in a form suitable for display, especially such a program for use on the internet.

   You may need to pause internet security features and refresh the page in your web browser to play the embedded videos.

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browser British  

/ ˈbraʊzə /

noun

1. a person or animal that browses

2. computing a software package that enables a user to find and read hypertext files, esp on the Internet

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browser Scientific  

/ brou′zər /

1. A program that accesses and displays files and other data available on the Internet and other networks. Entering a website's URL in the address window of a browser will bring up that website in the browser's main window.

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browser Cultural  

1. See Web browser.

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Other Word Forms

• nonbrowser noun

Etymology

Origin of browser

browse ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. ); browser def. 1 was first recorded in 1680–90, and browser def. 2 in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Usage metastasized from there, spreading to noncoders and tech enthusiasts who raved about how it could take control of a computer, use a web browser and complete tasks far afield from coding.

From The Wall Street Journal

Eric then had ChatGPT’s Atlas browser ingest her work and write instructions for another AI tool, Google AI Studio, to redesign it—in less than 15 minutes.

From The Wall Street Journal

That was when Netscape Navigator 1.0, the first commercially developed web browser, was released.

From The Wall Street Journal

Alphabet continues to benefit from a US court ruling late last year that spared the Internet giant from having to sell off its Chrome browser to address monopoly concerns.

From Barron's

In 2011, Marc Andreessen, the software engineer who co-authored the first widely used web browser before becoming a prominent venture capitalist, famously wrote a Wall Street Journal column titled, “Why Software is Eating the World.”

From MarketWatch