browse
browse Lexical Profile
browse Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To survey or look through goods for sale, books, or other items in a casual and leisurely manner.
"She liked to browse the shelves of the antique shop on Saturday afternoons."
To read or navigate through information on the internet or within a computer database.
"Users can browse the online catalog by author, title, or subject keyword."
To feed on leaves, young shoots, twigs, and other high-growing vegetation (of an herbivorous animal).
"White-tailed deer frequently browse on the tender buds of young saplings in early spring."
• noun
An act of casual reading, surveying, or looking through goods, books, or information.
"A quick browse through the local bookstore revealed several intriguing new biographies."
Tender twigs, shoots, and leaves of woody plants that serve as food for herbivorous animals.
"During the harsh winter months, woody browse makes up the majority of a moose's diet."
Word Nuance & Usage
In zoology and ecology, 'browse' is distinguished from 'graze': browsing animals (such as deer and giraffes) feed on high-growing leaves, twigs, and shoots of woody plants, whereas grazing animals (such as cattle and sheep) feed on low-growing grass and herbage.
• Rhymes for browse
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 15th century from Middle French 'broster' (to sprout, bud, or nibble on young shoots), derived from 'brost' (young shoot, twig), of Germanic origin. The modern sense of casually looking through books or shops developed in the 19th century as a figurative extension of animals nibbling here and there.