graze

¹ American  

[grayz] / 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.

---

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  

[grayz] / 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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

At the Iona course, sheep graze on the first seven holes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

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

The herd was established by La Société Guernesiaise in 2014 to graze areas around the island, removing the need for mechanical cutting while improving biodiversity.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 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

I move again, and just graze the top of your hands.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

Affected dogs often develop ulcers or sores, usually on the bottom part of their legs and stomach, or occasionally in the mouth, which can look like bites, grazes, wounds or stings.

From BBC ● Apr. 14, 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

If it just grazes the floor, it will look straight and tailored.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023

We also see her wielding a sledgehammer, which she sometimes grazes against the wall or licks like a lollipop.

From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2023

It barely grazes me, and I use the momentum of dodging the blow to stand up.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

The scientists could also examine how the outcome changed depending on whether the oxygen nuclei collided directly or merely grazed one another.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026

Earlier this month, Hurricane Lowell grazed the state, causing widespread power outages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Hawaii is still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Lala, which grazed the southern part of the Big Island last month, bringing destructive winds and flash floods.

From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026

Rodri’s dribbling opened more space for Spain, allowing him to create a shooting opportunity that grazed the post in the 54th minute.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Mom’s eyes grazed over the unmade bed, piles of clothes, and cluttered desk.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

These systems appear to result from lower-energy collisions, including grazing impacts between Moon-sized objects.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Currently, the birds are found in alpine meadows, located high in the mountains above the forests, which form some of the Himalayas' most important seasonal grazing and biodiversity-rich habitats.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Based on his observations thus far, Spasojevic believes the burros could play an important role in the local ecosystem by grazing on non-native grasses and preventing them from overtaking native plants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Forest Service trailhead, and in summer you can see bison grazing near Spanish Creek, along with whitetail deer and occasionally a black bear or moose.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Some of the fences were missing, and the Herding Machine was broken, but the cows promised not to wander off, and they began grazing on the windblown grass.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• ricochet
• rub
• scrape
• scratch
• skim

---