browse / ˈbrau̇z

 

verb

 

1. of animals, to graze

The goat must browse where she is tied.

Romanian Proverb

 

2. to skim or look through casually

It is time to browse through the precious books that have meant the most to you, that you may rediscover illuminating phrases and sentences to light your pathway to the future.

Wilferd Peterson, 1900-1995

 

3. to view through a computer program for accessing the Internet

We think that because we know how to use iPhones (but not build them), browse the Internet (but not understand how it works), and use Google (but not really known anything), our education system is working just great.

Glenn Beck, 1964-

 

4. to look through items cursorily

There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping parts that drag – and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or movement.

from ‘The Golden Notebook’ by Doris Lessing, 1919-2013

 

noun

 

1. a quick act of looking through items

It’s one of my little traditions, to have a browse and pick up wee bits of jewellery, then go for a coffee or lunch…

Nicola Young, ?-, greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/18100348.pop-shop-venture-local-lecturer-festive-feel/