definitions

graze

1
[ greyz ]
/ greɪz /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR graze ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), grazed, graz·ing.

to feed on growing grass and pasturage, as do cattle, sheep, etc.
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, graz·ing.

to feed on (growing grass).
to put cattle, sheep, etc., to feed on (grass, pastureland, etc.).
to tend (cattle, sheep, etc.) while they are at pasture.

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RELATED WORDS

rancher, peasant, laborer, producer, grower, tender, reaper, gardener, agriculturist, clodhopper, horticulturist, villein, homesteader, gleaner, feeder, planter, agriculturalist, cropper, sower, sharecropper

Nearby words

grayson, david, graywacke, graywater, graywether, graz, graze, grazier, grazing, grazingly, grazioso, grb

Origin of graze

1
before 1000; Middle English grasen, Old English grasian, derivative of græs grass
Related formsgraze·a·ble, adjectivegraz·er, noun

Definition for grazer (2 of 2)

graze

2
[ greyz ]
/ greɪz /

verb (used with object), grazed, graz·ing.

to touch or rub lightly in passing.
to scrape the skin from; abrade: The bullet just grazed his shoulder.

verb (used without object), grazed, graz·ing.

to touch or rub something lightly, or so as to produce slight abrasion, in passing: to graze against a rough wall.

noun

a touching or rubbing lightly in passing.
a slight scratch, scrape, or wound made in passing; abrasion.

Origin of graze

2
1595–1605; perhaps special use of graze1; for the semantic shift compare French effleurer, derivative of fleur flower, in the same meaning
Related formsgraz·er, noungraz·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for grazer

  • He had heard that some grazer from your county, Abner, was on the way up to buy the cattle for stockers.

    The Boy Scouts Book of Stories|Various

  • An Austrian who was in the town afterwards described the attack in the Grazer Tagespost.

    What Germany Thinks|Thomas F. A. Smith

  • But the grazer had a copy of 'orders,' too, and he had hired a lawyer to find out how he could get out of them.

    The Boy With the U. S. Foresters|Francis Rolt-Wheeler

  • He told the grazer what were the orders he had, and that he would have to live up to them.

    The Boy With the U. S. Foresters|Francis Rolt-Wheeler

British Dictionary definitions for grazer (1 of 2)

graze

1
/ (ɡreɪz) /

verb

noun

Southern African informal a snack; something to eat

Word Origin for graze

Old English grasian, from græs grass; related to Old High German grasōn, Dutch grazen, Norwegian grasa

British Dictionary definitions for grazer (2 of 2)

graze

2
/ (ɡreɪz) /

verb

(when intr, often foll by against or along) to brush or scrape (against) gently, esp in passing
(tr) to break the skin of (a part of the body) by scraping

noun

the act of grazing
a scrape or abrasion made by grazing
Derived Formsgrazer, noungrazingly, adverb

Word Origin for graze

C17: probably special use of graze 1; related to Swedish gräsa
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012