Library / English Dictionary

BROWSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of feeding by continual nibbling

Synonyms:

browse; browsing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("browse" is a kind of...):

eating; feeding (the act of consuming food)

Derivation:

browse (eat lightly, try different dishes)

browse (feed as in a meadow or pasture)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Reading superficially or at random

Synonyms:

browse; browsing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("browse" is a kind of...):

reading (the cognitive process of understanding a written linguistic message)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Vegetation (such as young shoots, twigs, and leaves) that is suitable for animals to eat

Example:

a deer needs to eat twenty pounds of browse every day

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("browse" is a kind of...):

botany; flora; vegetation (all the plant life in a particular region or period)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Eat lightly, try different dishes

Example:

There was so much food at the party that we quickly got sated just by browsing

Synonyms:

browse; graze

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "browse" is one way to...):

nosh; snack (eat a snack; eat lightly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue browse

Derivation:

browse (the act of feeding by continual nibbling)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Look around casually and randomly, without seeking anything in particular

Example:

surf the internet or the world wide web

Synonyms:

browse; surf

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "browse" is one way to...):

look for; search; seek (try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of)

Verb group:

browse; shop (shop around; not necessarily buying)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

browser (a program used to view HTML documents)

browser (a viewer who looks around casually without seeking anything in particular)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Feed as in a meadow or pasture

Example:

the herd was grazing

Synonyms:

browse; crop; graze; pasture; range

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "browse" is one way to...):

eat; feed (take in food; used of animals only)

Verb group:

range (let eat)

crop; graze; pasture (let feed in a field or pasture or meadow)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence example:

The animals browse

Derivation:

browse (the act of feeding by continual nibbling)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Shop around; not necessarily buying

Example:

I don't need help, I'm just browsing

Synonyms:

browse; shop

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "browse" is one way to...):

look for; search; seek (try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of)

Verb group:

browse; surf (look around casually and randomly, without seeking anything in particular)

Domain category:

commerce; commercialism; mercantilism (transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "browse"):

comparison-shop (compare prices for a given item)

antique (shop for antiques)

window-shop (examine the shop windows; shop with the eyes only)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

In the summer they like to go out and browse

Derivation:

browser (a viewer who looks around casually without seeking anything in particular)

Credits

 Context examples: 

From then on, night and day, Buck never left his prey, never gave it a moment’s rest, never permitted it to browse the leaves of trees or the shoots of young birch and willow.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

That weekend would be ideal for browsing spaces—you are likely to fall in love with one you see.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

In addition to documenting a driver’s dialing, texting, browsing or reaching for a phone, researchers assessed numerous secondary tasks, including dancing to music, attending to personal hygiene, and eating or drinking.

(Reaching for objects while driving may raise teen crash risk nearly sevenfold, National Institutes of Health)

It’s a good time to browse and interview home-related professionals, but not to announce your decision just yet.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

I feel you should start to browse spaces if you need to move, and begin to interview roommates if you hope to find someone compatible with you.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

March 11 should be a fantastic day, certainly one to browse new living spaces, furniture, and items to use in your renovation (if you are doing so).

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You may have been browsing new apartments or houses with the plan to move at some point, but with aspects like I just described, things likely went (or still will) go haywire.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You may need things that you did not have the time to buy in earlier months, so in January, perhaps armed with holiday cash gifted from relatives, you are ready to browse the Internet or shops.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This is a good time to focus on home, and if you need a new apartment or want to buy a house, try to carve out time to browse spaces that your real estate broker thinks you might like.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This same area of your chart rules transportation, so if you need to buy a car, this month or January would be a good time to browse, for you may get a good deal.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)