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

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

• grazeable adjective
• grazer noun
• grazingly adverb

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

At Hothfield Heathlands, the highland cows had been used as working livestock animals to graze on the grass and help to manage the reserve.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Adding to the costs was the expensive fodder that farmers had to buy while their herds were unable to graze in the open fields.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

For example the government's Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme, which was updated last month, includes further incentives for farmers to graze moorland with cattle and ponies instead of sheep as it "contributes positively to biodiversity".

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

For generations, it has symbolized resilience and rural life, valued for its toughness, ability to graze on marginal land, and nutrient-dense milk that supported small farmers.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026

The cows could graze at the bottom, and I could keep a lookout for thieves or wild animals.

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

Related Words

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