browse

[brouz] /braʊz/
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:
He's browsing the shelves for something to read.
verb (used without object), browsed, browsing.
4.
to feed on or nibble at foliage, lichen, berries, etc.
5.
to graze.
6.
to glance at random through a book, magazine, etc.
7.
to look leisurely at goods displayed for sale, as in a store.
noun
8.
tender shoots or twigs of shrubs and trees as food for cattle, deer, etc.
9.
an act or instance of browsing.
Origin
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
Related forms
browser, noun
nonbrowsing, adjective, noun
overbrowse, verb (used with object), overbrowsed, overbrowsing.
unbrowsing, adjective
Can be confused
brows, browse.
Synonyms
3. scan, skim, examine, peruse, check.
Examples from the web for browse
  • browse through images from our online-exclusive photo gallery.
  • browse by planet or search the database for your favorites.
  • browse hundreds of photos, submitted by our readers.
  • There is a shop where they can browse the company's latest products.
  • browse the adventure and exploration photos in our archive-each one ready to be downloaded as wallpaper.
  • browse the bathrooms that inspire us, and get a variety of ideas to create your own fantasy retreat.
  • Deer don't usually browse them, but the plants are subject to a number of pests and diseases.
  • browse the list below to find topic pages about subjects.
  • browse this nursery for all manner of plants year-round.
  • browse the list below to find topic pages about people.
British Dictionary definitions for browse

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
4.
the act or an instance of browsing
5.
the young twigs, shoots, leaves, etc, on which certain animals feed
Word Origin
C15: from French broust, brost (modern French brout) bud, of Germanic origin; compare Old Saxon brustian to bud
Word Origin and History for browse
v.

mid-15c., "feed on buds," from Middle French brouster, from Old French broster "to sprout, bud," from brost "young shoot, twig," probably from Proto-Germanic *brustjan "to bud," from PIE *bhreus- "to swell, sprout" (see breast (n.)). Lost its final -t in English on the mistaken notion that the letter was a past participle inflection. Figurative extension to "peruse" (books) is 1870s, American English. Related: Browsed; browsing.