channel-surf

[ chan-l-surf ]

verb (used without object)

1. to change from one channel on a television set to another with great or unusual frequency, especially by using a remote control.

Other Words From

• channel surfer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of channel-surf¹

An Americanism dating back to 1985–90

Example Sentences

Even today, if you channel-surf Italian TV, you will inevitably come across half-naked young women.

From BBC

And it offers something viewers might have missed while they were logged onto other streamers: the ability to channel-surf.

From New York Times

The latter features a number of scenes in which Hudson and his colleagues watch surveillance footage, a framing device that allows Maddin to channel-surf between clips.

From Los Angeles Times

That tour’s guiding metaphor was television; Bono used a remote control to channel-surf on the show’s giant screens.

From The New Yorker

“You channel-surf and everywhere you look there’s the body of another woman who’s been violated, but this show does not rely on sensationalism.”

From Washington Post