browse

browse
    n 1: vegetation (such as young shoots, twigs, and leaves) that
         is suitable for animals to eat; "a deer needs to eat twenty
         pounds of browse every day"
    2: reading superficially or at random [syn: {browse},
       {browsing}]
    3: the act of feeding by continual nibbling [syn: {browse},
       {browsing}]
    v 1: shop around; not necessarily buying; "I don't need help,
         I'm just browsing" [syn: {shop}, {browse}]
    2: feed as in a meadow or pasture; "the herd was grazing" [syn:
       {crop}, {browse}, {graze}, {range}, {pasture}]
    3: look around casually and randomly, without seeking anything
       in particular; "browse a computer directory"; "surf the
       internet or the world wide web" [syn: {browse}, {surf}]
    4: eat lightly, try different dishes; "There was so much food at
       the party that we quickly got sated just by browsing" [syn:
       {browse}, {graze}]
    

Browse \Browse\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Browsed} (brouzd); p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Browsing}.] [For broust, OF. brouster, bruster, F.
   brouter. See {Browse}, n., and cf. {Brut}.]
   1. To eat or nibble off, as the tender branches of trees,
      shrubs, etc.; -- said of cattle, sheep, deer, and some
      other animals.
      [1913 Webster]

            Yes, like the stag, when snow the plasture sheets,
            The barks of trees thou browsedst.    --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To feed on, as pasture; to pasture on; to graze.
      [1913 Webster]

            Fields . . . browsed by deep-uddered kine.
                                                  --Tennyson.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To look casually through (a book, books, or a set of
      documents), reading those parts which arouse one's
      interest. Contrasted with {scan}, in which one typically
      is searching for something specific.
      [PJC]

   3. (Computers) To look at a series of electronic documents on
      a computer screen by means of a {browser[2]}.
      [PJC]
    

Browse \Browse\ (brouz), n. [OF. brost, broust, sprout, shoot,
   F. brout browse, browsewood, prob. fr. OHG. burst, G. borste,
   bristle; cf. also Armor. brousta to browse. See {Bristle},
   n., {Brush}, n.]
   The tender branches or twigs of trees and shrubs, fit for the
   food of cattle and other animals; green food. --Spenser.
   [1913 Webster]

         Sheep, goats, and oxen, and the nobler steed,
         On browse, and corn, and flowery meadows feed.
                                                  --Dryden.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Browse \Browse\ (brouz), v. i.
   1. To feed on the tender branches or shoots of shrubs or
      trees, as do cattle, sheep, and deer.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To pasture; to feed; to nibble; to graze. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To look casually through a book, books, or a set of
      documents, reading those parts which arouse one's
      interest.
      [PJC]

   4. To search through a group of items to find something, not
      previously specified, which may be of interest.
      [PJC]
    

31 Moby Thesaurus words for "browse":
      batten upon, crop, dip into, fatten on, fatten upon, feast on,
      feast upon, feed on, flip through, glance at, glance over,
      glance through, go marketing, go over, go shopping, graze, live on,
      look over, look through, market, pasture on, peruse, prey on,
      run over, run through, scan, shop, skim, thumb over, thumb through,
      window-shop