browse

/bɹaʊz/

//bɹaʊz// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"browse" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“browse” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,109. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,109
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand.

Corpus desk

Index EN-browse · browse · English

browse · rank #13,109 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,109
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Brit

Nearest frequency peer: Brit (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “browse”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “browse” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

browse vs bruise
67% similar
browse vs browser
86% similar
browse vs browsers
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for browse
PropertyValue
Headwordbrowse
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/bɹaʊz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#13,109
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “browse”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).browselands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Brit” (#13,108), “brutally” (#13,110), “bravery” (#13,107). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “browse” is #13,109. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around browse (IPA /bɹaʊz/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,109 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for browse, with forms such as "bbrowse", "borwse", and "broswe". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bruise", "browser", "browsers", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English browsen, from Old French brouster, broster (“to nibble off buds, sprouts, and bark; browse”), from brost (“a sprout, shoot, bud”), from a Germanic source, perhaps Frankish *brust (“shoot, bud”), from Proto-Germanic *brustiz (“bud, shoot”… The correct English form is browse, spelled B-R-O-W-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand.
  2. 2
    To move about while sampling, such as with food or products on display.
  3. 3
    To navigate through hyperlinked documents on a computer, usually with a browser.
  4. 4
    To move about while eating parts of plants, especially plants other than pasture, such as shrubs or trees.
  5. 5
    To feed on, as pasture; to pasture on; to graze.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how browse appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I'm just browsing around.
  2. I stopped in several bookstores to browse.

Etymology

From Middle English browsen, from Old French brouster, broster (“to nibble off buds, sprouts, and bark; browse”), from brost (“a sprout, shoot, bud”), from a Germanic source, perhaps Frankish *brust (“shoot, bud”), from Proto-Germanic *brustiz (“bud, shoot”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell, sprout”). Cognate with Bavarian Bross, Brosst (“a bud”), Old Saxon brustian (“to sprout”). Doublet of brut, breast, and brush.

This word in other languages

vichar(Español)feuilleter(Français)blättern(Deutsch)observar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbrowse
  • borwse
  • broswe
  • browes
  • browsse
  • browwse
  • brrowse
  • brwose
  • rbowse

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of browse - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbrowse1borwse2broswe2browes2browsse1browwse1brrowse1brwose2
Edit distance from "browse"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "browse"?
"browse" is spelled B-R-O-W-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹaʊz/.
What does "browse" mean?
As a verb, "browse" means: To scan, to casually look through in order to find items of interest, especially without knowledge of what to look for beforehand.
What words are commonly confused with "browse"?
"browse" is commonly confused with "bruise", "browser", "browsers". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "browse"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "browse" is /bɹaʊz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "browse"?
From Middle English browsen, from Old French brouster, broster (“to nibble off buds, sprouts, and bark; browse”), from brost (“a sprout, shoot, bud”), from a Germanic source, perhaps Frankish *brust (“shoot, bud”), from Proto-Germanic *brustiz (“b... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "browse", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

billed#13,103barker#13,099cortex#13,126Archie#13,091

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

calorie9 variantsbilling9 variantsAugusta9 variantsViking9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list