What does browse mean?
Word: Browse
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Browse means to look through books, things in a shop or pages on the internet in a relaxed way, with no exact plan.
Sounds like: brows (the lines of hair above the eyes)
How do you spell browse?
Syllables: browse
Tricky part: The final sound is a z, yet there is no z in the word. Students who trust their ears write browze.
Watch out for: browze, brouze
Memory tip: Think of brows, the hair above your eyes: that word also buzzes like a z at the end but is spelt with an s.
Browse in a sentence
Example 1: We like to browse the book stalls on College Street in Kolkata.
Example 2: Ananya used the school computer to browse for facts about comets.
Example 3: Giraffes browse on the leaves at the tops of tall trees.
Fun Fact
Long before the web, the word described animals nibbling leaves and young shoots. Its sense of looking through books came later, and the computer sense later still.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
browse
a) repair
b) memorise
c) skim
d) gather
Show answer
c) skim. When you skim a magazine you look over it lightly, and that is the same relaxed reading.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
browese
a) o
b) e
c) w
d) s
Show answer
b) e. Only one e belongs in this word, at the very end.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) browse
b) dictionery
c) catalouge
d) libary
Show answer
a) browse. Library has an r after the b, catalogue has ue at the end, and dictionary ends in ary.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
During the holidays we browse in a shop that sells old magazeens.
a) shop
b) holidays
c) browse
d) magazeens
Show answer
d) magazeens. Magazines ends with ine and an s, though it sounds like seen.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pick the person who is browsing.
a) copying a long sum down from the blackboard
b) writing out a list of books to be returned
c) turning pages at a stall with no title in mind
d) reading one chapter closely for a class test
Show answer
c) turning pages at a stall with no title in mind
2. A shop assistant offers help, and you say, Just browsing, thank you. What do you mean?
a) You want to pay straight away
b) You are only having a look
c) You are waiting for a friend
d) You have lost your shopping bag
Show answer
b) You are only having a look
