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Meaning & use

browse the internet

phrase·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˌbraʊz ði ˈɪntənet/
US/ˌbraʊz ði ˈɪntərnet/

Meanings

  1. phraseintransitive

    To look at websites and online pages casually, moving from one thing to another without a fixed goal.

    Grammar: Used as a verb phrase; 'the internet' is the object, and you can also say 'browse online' or 'browse the web'.

    Patterns

    • browse the internet
    • browse the internet for something
    • spend time browsing the internet

    I spent the whole evening browsing the internet instead of studying.

    She browses the internet for recipes when she can't sleep.

    He was browsing the internet on his phone during the bus ride.

  2. phraseintransitive

    To search through online material in order to find something specific.

    Grammar: Often followed by 'for' plus what you are looking for: browse the internet for information.

    Patterns

    • browse the internet for information
    • browse the internet for deals
    • browse the internet in search of something

    We browsed the internet for cheap flights to Rome.

    Customers often browse the internet for reviews before buying.

Word forms

third person singularbrowses the internet
past tensebrowsed the internet
past participlebrowsed the internet
-ing formbrowsing the internet

Common combinations

browse the internet for information
I browsed the internet for information about the course.
spend hours browsing the internet
He spends hours browsing the internet at night.
browse the internet on your phone
Most students browse the internet on their phones.
sit browsing the internet
She sat browsing the internet while the soup cooked.
browse the internet safely
Children need to learn how to browse the internet safely.

Synonyms and how they differ

surf the internet
Very similar, but a little older and more casual; it suggests jumping quickly from site to site.
go online
More general: it can mean simply connecting to the internet, not necessarily looking at pages.
search the internet
Implies a clear goal and usually a search engine, while 'browse' suggests a relaxed, open-ended look.

Opposites

log offgo offline

Word family

browse verb
To look through things or pages in a casual way.
browser noun
A program used to view websites.
browsing noun
The activity of looking at websites or pages casually.

Commonly confused: browse the internet or browse the web?

browse the internet vs browse the web

'The web' refers to websites and pages; 'the internet' is the wider network, so 'browse the internet' is broader but very common.

Practice

Choose the sentence that uses 'browse the internet' most naturally.

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