browse
v.v. to look through things in a relaxed way without a specific plan. You might do this in a shop or when looking at different websites on the internet.
v. to scan or inspect goods or information casually without a predetermined purchase or search goal. Often describes the act of navigating through web pages or digital files.
I like to browse the local bookstore on Saturday mornings.
While waiting for her flight, she spent an hour browsing the duty-free shops for a new perfume.
The software allows users to browse through thousands of high-resolution images without needing to download each file individually, significantly reducing the time required for initial research.
From Middle English browsen, from Old French brouster, broster (“to nibble off buds, sprouts, and bark; browse”), from brost (“a sprout, shoot, bud”), from a Germanic source, perhaps Frankish brust (“shoot, bud”), from Proto-Germanic brustiz (“bud, shoot”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell, sprout”). Cognate with Bavarian Bross, Brosst (“a bud”), Old Saxon brustian (“to sprout”). Doublet of brut, breast, and brush.
The verb is often used intransitively or followed by the preposition 'through'.