browse
Americanverb (used with object)
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to eat, nibble at, or feed on (leaves, tender shoots, or other soft vegetation).
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to graze; pasture on.
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to look through or glance at casually or randomly.
He's browsing the shelves for something to read.
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to access and view (website content) with a Web browser, usually without looking for something specific.
a secure way to browse the Web.
verb (used without object)
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to feed on or nibble at foliage, lichen, berries, etc.
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to graze.
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to glance at random through a book, magazine, etc.
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to look leisurely at goods displayed for sale, as in a store.
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to access and view websites with a Web browser, as in
If you love to browse while on the road, you can easily take advantage of free Wi-Fi .
noun
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tender shoots or twigs of shrubs and trees as food for cattle, deer, etc.
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an act or instance of browsing.
verb
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to look through (a book, articles for sale in a shop, etc) in a casual leisurely manner
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computing to search for and read hypertext, esp on the Internet
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(of deer, goats, etc) to feed upon (vegetation) by continual nibbling
noun
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the act or an instance of browsing
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the young twigs, shoots, leaves, etc, on which certain animals feed
Other Word Forms
- browser noun
- nonbrowsing adjective
- overbrowse verb (used with object)
- unbrowsing adjective
Etymology
Origin of browse
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They browsed sites for a suitable place for their dog and plenty of guests.
Find your people: After joining a group, spend time browsing through posts to get a sense of their quality and vibe.
“They like to browse amongst each other and say ‘Have you seen this movie?’ or ‘Have you seen this director?’
From Los Angeles Times
People browse the internet with VPNs and cookie-blockers and encrypted connections not because they truly believe the government is personally watching them, though that possibility is less remote for some people than for others.
From Salon
“Don’t worry, I went back in and cleared the browsing history,” Jonah said.
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
