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 browsing
  • He was often discovered praying on his knees under some tree, whilst his flocks were browsing on the hills.
  • Go for the good browsing in design shops and a boutique-wine collective.
  • In between browsing, refuel at cozy cafes or stick around for dinner.
  • Spend an afternoon prowling for antiques and browsing in boutiques along the main road.
  • The adult giraffes pause and regard us nonchalantly before going back to their browsing.
  • After students have spent ten or fifteen minutes browsing these sites, discuss the implications of this type of technology.
  • As they are browsing the sites, have them take notes to answer the questions below.
  • The new one is not friendly for finding and browsing maps.
  • It was quiet without the usual throng of browsing tourists.
  • Some of you are experiencing messaging and browsing delays.
British Dictionary definitions for browsing

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 browsing

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.