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Webster 1913 Edition


Graze

Graze

(grāz)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Grazed
(grāzd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Grazing
.]
[OE.
grasen
, AS.
grasian
, fr.
græs
grass. See
Grass
.]
1.
To feed or supply (cattle, sheep, etc.) with grass; to furnish pasture for.
A field or two to
graze
his cows.
Swift.
2.
To feed on; to eat (growing herbage); to eat grass from (a pasture); to browse.
The lambs with wolves shall
graze
the verdant mead.
Pope.
3.
To tend (cattle, etc.) while grazing.
When Jacob
grazed
his uncle Laban’s sheep.
Shakespeare
4.
To rub or touch lightly the surface of (a thing) in passing;
as, the bullet
grazed
the wall
.

Graze

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To eat grass; to feed on growing herbage;
as, cattle
graze
on the meadows
.
2.
To yield grass for grazing.
The ground continueth the wet, whereby it will never
graze
to purpose.
Bacon.
3.
To touch something lightly in passing.

Graze

,
Noun.
1.
The act of grazing; the cropping of grass.
[Colloq.]
Turning him out for a
graze
on the common.
T. Hughes.
2.
A light touch; a slight scratch.

Webster 1828 Edition


Graze

GRAZE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. rado, rasi, or rodo, rosi.]
1.
To rub or touch lightly in passing; to brush lightly in passing; as, the bullet grazed the wall or the earth.
2.
To feed or supply cattle with grass; to furnish pasture for; as, the farmer grazes large herds of cattle.
3.
To feed on; to eat from the ground, as growing herbage.
The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead.
4.
To tend grazing cattle; as, Jacob grazed Laban's sheep.

GRAZE

,
Verb.
I.
To eat grass; to feed on growing herbage; as, cattle graze on the meadows.
1.
To supply grass; as, the ground will not graze well.
2.
To move on devouring.

Definition 2024


graze

graze

English

Noun

graze (plural grazes)

  1. The act of grazing; a scratching or injuring lightly on passing.
  2. A light abrasion; a slight scratch.

Translations

Verb

graze (third-person singular simple present grazes, present participle grazing, simple past and past participle grazed)

  1. (transitive) To feed or supply (cattle, sheep, etc.) with grass; to furnish pasture for.
    • Jonathan Swift
      a field or two to graze his cows
    • 1999: Although it is perfectly good meadowland, none of the villagers has ever grazed animals on the meadow on the other side of the wall. Stardust, Neil Gaiman, page 4 (2001 Perennial Edition).
  2. (transitive, intransitive) To feed on; to eat (growing herbage); to eat grass from (a pasture); to browse.
    Cattle graze in the meadows.
    • Alexander Pope
      The lambs with wolves shall graze the verdant mead.
    • 1993, John Montroll, Origami Inside-Out (page 41)
      The bird [Canada goose] is more often found on land than other waterfowl because of its love for seeds and grains. The long neck is well adapted for grazing.
  3. (transitive) To tend (cattle, etc.) while grazing.
    • Shakespeare
      when Jacob grazed his uncle Laban's sheep
  4. (transitive) To rub or touch lightly the surface of (a thing) in passing.
    the bullet grazed the wall
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, chapter 23
      But in that gale, the port, the land, is that ship’s direst jeopardy; she must fly all hospitality; one touch of land, though it but graze the keel, would make her shudder through and through.
  5. (transitive) To cause a slight wound to; to scratch.
    to graze one's knee
  6. (intransitive) To yield grass for grazing.
    • Francis Bacon
      The sewers must be kept so as the water may not stay too long in the spring; for then the ground continueth the wet, whereby it will never graze to purpose that year.

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams


Dutch

Verb

graze

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of grazen