# peruse

> English word · Verb · IPA /pəˈɹuːz/ · frequency rank #40,385

## Definitions
1. To examine or consider with care.
2. To read completely.
3. To look over casually; to skim.
4. To go from place to place; to wander.

## Etymology
From either Medieval Latin perūtor, perūsitō (“wear out”)) or Anglo-Norman peruser (“use up”)), originally leading to two concurrent meanings, but only those derived from "to examine" survive today. By surface analysis, per- + use.

## Easily confused with
- **purse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peruse-vs-purse)
- **prose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peruse-vs-prose)
- **prune** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peruse-vs-prune)
- **prude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peruse-vs-prude)
- **phrase** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peruse-vs-phrase)
- **Peru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peru-vs-peruse)
- **pers** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pers-vs-peruse)
- **pause** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pause-vs-peruse)
- **parse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parse-vs-peruse)
- **Peres** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peres-vs-peruse)
- **pease** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pease-vs-peruse)
- **perish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-peruse)
- **perdue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perdue-vs-peruse)
- **perfume** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perfume-vs-peruse)
- **Penrose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penrose-vs-peruse)

## Common misspellings (8)
`epruse`, `perruse`, `persue`, `perues`, `perusse`, `peurse`, `pperuse`, `preuse`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/peruse