graze

¹ American  

[greyz] / greɪz /

verb (used without object)

grazed, grazing

1. to feed on growing grass and pasturage, as do cattle, sheep, etc.

2. Informal. to eat small portions of food, as appetizers or the like, in place of a full-sized meal or to snack during the course of the day in place of regular meals.

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verb (used with object)

grazed, grazing

1. to feed on (growing grass).

2. to put cattle, sheep, etc., to feed on (grass, pastureland, etc.).

3. to tend (cattle, sheep, etc.) while they are at pasture.

graze ² American  

[greyz] / greɪz /

verb (used with object)

grazed, grazing

1. to touch or rub lightly in passing.

2. to scrape the skin from; abrade.

   The bullet just grazed his shoulder.

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verb (used without object)

grazed, grazing

1. to touch or rub something lightly, or so as to produce slight abrasion, in passing.

   to graze against a rough wall.

noun

1. a touching or rubbing lightly in passing.

2. a slight scratch, scrape, or wound made in passing; abrasion.

graze ¹ British  

/ ɡreɪz /

verb

1. to allow (animals) to consume the vegetation on (an area of land), or (of animals, esp cows and sheep) to feed thus

2. (tr) to tend (livestock) while at pasture

3. informal to eat snacks throughout the day rather than formal meals

4. informal to eat

5. informal (intr) to switch between television channels while viewing without watching any channel for long

6. to pilfer and eat sweets, vegetables, etc, from supermarket shelves while shopping

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noun

1. informal a snack; something to eat

graze ² British  

/ ɡreɪz /

verb

1. to brush or scrape (against) gently, esp in passing

2. (tr) to break the skin of (a part of the body) by scraping

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noun

1. the act of grazing

2. a scrape or abrasion made by grazing

Other Word Forms

• grazeable adjective
• grazer noun
• grazingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of graze¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English grasen, Old English grasian, derivative of græs grass

Origin of graze²

First recorded in 1350–1400; perhaps special use of graze ¹

Example Sentences

Sheep graze on nearby farmland, and tractors are a regular sight.

From The Wall Street Journal

In these cases, intense grazing by urchins can strip seafloors of plant life, damaging marine habitats and creating so-called "urchin barrens."

From Science Daily

The largest single herd of dugongs occurs in the Arabian Gulf, where their constant grazing stirs up sediment and releases nutrients that benefit surrounding marine ecosystems.

From Science Daily

Tibetan nomads fear that mining will pollute the grass and water they rely on for grazing their animals.

From The Wall Street Journal

We hear “the strangled ungulate blurt” of a distressed elk, “the ruminant crunch” of a grazing sheep.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ricochet
• rub
• scrape
• scratch
• skim
• skip