browse

verb

\ ˈbrau̇z

browsed; browsing

Definition of browse

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a 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

1a 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

2a : 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

browse

noun

Definition of browse (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Other Words from browse Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about browse

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Synonyms for browse

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

Here, French families poured in to browse the latest titles, and kids headed to their own section in the back of the shop. — Elizabeth Wellington, Vogue, "Where to Find London’s Hidden French Side," 7 Jan. 2019 While furniture buyers still want to see large items in person before committing, e-commerce is becoming more important to browse options and eventually make a purchase. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "The rise of the direct-to-consumer home," 21 Dec. 2018 In September, Pinterest surpassed more than 250 million monthly active users, who visit the site to browse through billions of images on topics ranging from living-room furniture to dinner recipes and tattoos. — Maureen Farrell, WSJ, "Pinterest Readies Itself for Early 2019 IPO," 19 Dec. 2018 Some products are displayed with a QR code, so shoppers can use their Amazon app to drop the product right into their shopping cart, and to browse through recommendations of similar toys. — Chavie Lieber, Vox, "Amazon’s 70-page catalog will be sent to millions of customers.," 7 Nov. 2018 By contrast, with an OpenVPN tunnel active and significant Web-browsing use, battery life would go down from a couple of days to no more than four or five hours on either the MediaPad M5 or my Pixel 2XL. — Jim Salter, Ars Technica, "Testing WireGuard with an early-adopter VPN service," 11 Dec. 2018 Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss our latest and greatest stories Security Thanks to an assist from Congress, your cable company has the legal right to sell your web-browsing data without your consent. — Brian Barrett, WIRED, "How the US Government Secretly Sold 'Spy Phones' to Suspects," 13 July 2018 The company collects this browsing data for a number of reasons, but the most valuable reason is to target you with ads. — Kurt Wagner, Recode, "Facebook will allow users to opt out of letting Facebook collect their browsing history," 1 May 2018 Tasks like browsing the web are still better left for your smartphone or laptop. — Lisa Eadicicco, Time, "Review: Facebook's New Oculus Go Headset Is What Virtual Reality Should Have Always Been," 1 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Stars of the park include the big cats (bobcats, lynx, and cougar), roly-poly black bears, and moose that munch all manner of browse, unperturbed by squealing youngsters. — Patricia Harris And David Lyon, BostonGlobe.com, "Goin’ up the country: The rustic appeal of Maine’s Route 26," 21 June 2018 After a browse there, the art walk proceeds on to the Mexican Cultural Center and a reception inside the Mexican General Consulate building. — Brittany Martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "10 Fun, Free Things to Do in L.A. This May," 1 May 2018 In contrast, the surrounding hillside is dreamily serene: A modest herd of cattle browses in one field, clusters of tups (rams) and ewes with lambs in the others. — Kieran Dodds, Smithsonian, "Britain’s Lake District Was Immortalized by Beatrix Potter, But Is Its Future in Peril?," 20 Apr. 2018 Sip cocktails and nibble on party snacks as your browse and get inspired. — cleveland.com, "Say 'I Do' to these 18 Northeast Ohio wedding events in 2018," 9 Jan. 2018 The best option is to give them more of the winter foods they are already adapted to eating - winter browse. — Evan Macdonald, cleveland.com, "No one harmed in Christmas house fire in Broadview Heights," 25 Dec. 2017 Touchdown in Lathrop led me straight to Enchanted Frog for a nice relaxing browse through this mystical antique store. — kansascity, "Where the bridge forks: two roads to two very different winter day trips | The Kansas City Star," 13 Dec. 2017 In fact, the zoo gets much of its browse from a super-secret Honda test track outside of Columbus that’s surrounded by lush wetland vegetation. — Jason Bittel, Smithsonian, "When Disaster Strikes, the Zoo Must Go On," 11 Sep. 2017 Their first-ever permanent brick-and-mortar location is basically an IRL browse through Goop.com. — Sara Tardiff, ELLE Decor, "Goop Has Officially Opened Its First Permanent Shop And It's Every Lifestyle Blogger's Dream," 18 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'browse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for browse

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

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