Definition

1. Noun:

   • The act of grazing: The action of animals feeding on growing grass or other vegetation.
   • A superficial abrasion: A minor injury where the skin is scraped off, typically not deep.

2. Verb:

   • To eat small amounts of food throughout the day, often while moving around: To eat lightly or snack on various available foods.
   • To scrape or touch lightly in passing: To brush against something with enough contact to cause a minor abrasion or mark.
   • To allow animals to feed on growing grass or pasture: To put animals out in a field to eat grass or other plants.
   • To break the skin superficially by scraping: To cause a minor wound by scraping the skin.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The cows were put out for a morning graze. (The cows were allowed to feed on grass in the morning.)
  • He fell off his bike and got a nasty graze on his knee. (He fell off his bike and suffered a superficial scrape on his knee.)

• Verb:

  • At the buffet, I like to graze on the different appetizers. (At the buffet, I like to eat small amounts of the various appetizers.)
  • The car's side mirror grazed the wall as she drove through the narrow alley. (The car's side mirror lightly scraped against the wall.)
  • Farmers graze their sheep on these hills. (Farmers allow their sheep to feed on the grass of these hills.)
  • The bullet only grazed his shoulder, so the injury was minor. (The bullet only superficially scraped his shoulder.)

Advanced Usage

• "To graze on/upon something": To feed on something (for animals) or to eat something casually (for people).

  • Deer graze on the young shoots in spring. (Deer feed on the new plant growth in spring.)
  • Guests can graze upon the selection of cheeses. (Guests can eat casually from the assortment of cheeses.)

• "To graze against/past something": To touch or scrape something lightly while moving.

  • Her sleeve grazed against the wet paint. (Her sleeve lightly touched the wet paint.)

Variants and Related Words

• Grazer (n): An animal that feeds on grass.

  • Cattle are natural grazers. (Cattle are animals that naturally eat grass.)

• Grazing (n): The activity of animals feeding on grass; land used for this purpose.

  • The land is used for cattle grazing. (The land is used for cattle to feed on grass.)

Synonyms

• Noun (abrasion): Scratch, scrape.
• Verb (eat lightly): Nibble, snack, browse.
• Verb (scrape): Brush, skim, touch.
• Verb (feed on grass): Browse, pasture.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Graze" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meanings are typically expressed with prepositions as shown in "Advanced Usage.")

Related Idioms

• "To graze the surface": (A variation of "to scratch the surface") To deal with only the most superficial aspects of something.
  • His report only grazed the surface of the complex issue. (His report only addressed the most obvious parts of the complex problem.)

Noun

1. the act of grazing
2. a superficial abrasion

Verb

1. eat lightly, try different dishes
   • There was so much food at the party that we quickly got sated just by browsing
2. scrape gently
   • graze the skin
3. let feed in a field or pasture or meadow
4. break the skin (of a body part) by scraping
   • She was grazed by the stray bullet
5. feed as in a meadow or pasture
   • the herd was grazing