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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Browsed 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 ]

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 ]

n. 1. An animal that browses. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Computers) a computer program that permits the user to view multiple electronic documents in a flexible sequence by the process of activating hypertext “buttons” within one document, which serves as a reference to the location of related document. The term is currently (late 1990's) used mostly for programs which allow traversing hypertext paths in documents on the internet. A typical browser will permit the user to easily reverse direction, and view again documents previously accessed. [ PJC ]

n. Shrubs and bushes upon which animals browse. [ 1913 Webster ]