graze

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈɡreɪz/ UK /ˈɡreɪz/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like glaze /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

verb
to feed on growing grass, or to scrape the skin lightly

The cattle graze on the hillside through the long afternoon.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to feed on growing grass,... browse feed pasture crop scrape scratch skim brush

Word family

Derived forms grazergrazing

Related forms grass

Simplified etymology

Graze entered Middle English from Old English grasian, meaning “to eat grass.”

Etymology

From Old English grasian ('to feed on grass'), from græs ('grass'), from Proto-Germanic *grasą. The 'scrape lightly' sense may be a separate development, perhaps from the same root or influenced by raze.

grasian Old English græs Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# graze

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɡreɪz/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɡreɪz/

## Meanings
1. to feed on growing grass, or to scrape the skin lightly

## Examples
- The cattle graze on the hillside through the long afternoon.

## Synonyms
- browse
- feed
- pasture
- crop
- scrape
- scratch
- skim
- brush

## Derived Forms
- grazer
- grazing

## Related Forms
- grass

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: grasian
- Root: græs

## Etymology
From Old English grasian ('to feed on grass'), from græs ('grass'), from Proto-Germanic *grasą. The 'scrape lightly' sense may be a separate development, perhaps from the same root or influenced by raze.

## AI Etymology
Graze comes from Old English grasian ('to feed on grass'), from græs ('grass'), from Proto-Germanic *grasą. The 'scrape lightly' sense may be a separate development, perhaps from the same root or influenced by raze. The history is deliberately cautious: the proposed comparison is useful for orientation, but the wording leaves room for uncertainty rather than forcing a false certainty. In present use, it is used as a verb and noun meaning "to feed on growing grass, or to scrape the skin lightly", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes derivatives such as grazer and grazing and related forms such as grass, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Old English grasian and Old English græs, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood includes browse, feed, pasture, and crop, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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