browse

1 of 2

verb

ˈbrau̇z 

browsed; browsing

transitive verb

1

a

of an animal : to eat (tender shoots, twigs, leaves of trees and shrubs, etc.) : to consume as browse (see browse entry 2 sense 1)

browsing thistles

b

: graze

2

: to look over casually : skim

browsing the want ads

3

computers : to access (a network) by means of a browser

intransitive verb

1

a

of an animal : to feed on or as if on tender shoots, twigs, and leaves of trees and shrubs : to feed on or as if on browse

b

: graze

cows browsing in the pasture

2

a

: to skim through a book reading passages that catch the eye

b

: to look over or through an aggregate of things casually especially in search of something of interest

browsing through the store's magazine section

browsable

ˈbrau̇-zə-bəl 

adjective

browse

2 of 2

noun

1

: tender shoots, twigs, and leaves of trees and shrubs used by animals for food

2

: an act or instance of browsing

a quick browse through the want ads

Synonyms

Verb

• forage
• graze
• pasture
• rustle

Examples of browse in a Sentence

Verb

Several customers were browsing in the bookstore.

He was browsing the want ads in the newspaper.

cows browsing in the pasture

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

This gives parent the ability to create what can be considered a safe environment for their children to browse the web, and this is accomplished by the use of content filtering. —Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025

The whole process, Mill argued, would move voting away from a referendum on a community’s values and toward an act of whimsy, like browsing from an array of calico clothes. —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 23 June 2025

Noun

The teeth are different shapes depending upon whether an herbivore was eating a browse diet, which would be like leaves or shrubs, or a graze diet, which would be more like grass. —Ari Daniel, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 June 2025

Maximize your visit to the Heath with a dip in the pond, a browse of Daunt Books, and a coffee at The Nook. Festival season Our north-west Londoner Harry… in east London? —Riann Phillip, Vogue, 11 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English brouusen, probably from Anglo-French brouts browse entry 2

Noun

probably modification of Anglo-French brouts, plural of brout sprout, of Germanic origin; akin to Old Saxon brustian to sprout, and perhaps to Old English brēost breast — more at breast

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for browse

• boughs
• bows
• brows
• cows
• dhows
• howes
• mows
• ploughs
• plows
• prows
• scows
• thous

Kids Definition

browse

1 of 2 verb

ˈbrau̇z 

browsed; browsing

1

: to nibble or feed on leaves and shoots

2

: to read or look over something in a light or careless way

browse

2 of 2 noun

1

: tender shoots and leaves used by animals for food

2

: an act or instance of browsing