graze 1 of 3

verb (1)

ˈgrāz How to pronounce graze (audio)
Definition of grazenext
as in to pasture
to feed on grass or herbs cows grazing in the meadow

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graze

2 of 3

verb (2)

1
as in to scrape
to damage by rubbing against a sharp or rough surface I grazed my elbow diving for the ball

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to brush
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing the volleyball just grazed my face, so I'm okay

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

graze

3 of 3

noun

as in bruise
an area of skin roughened or worn away by harsh rubbing against another surface a stumble that resulted in nothing more serious than a graze on the knee

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of graze
Verb
When the drone flies near an object and a whisker grazes or bends against a surface, the pressure changes at the base are measured in under two milliseconds, enabling the drone to calculate contact location and depth with millimeter precision. — New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026 While the Griffiths were in a carriage on their way to the grave of Tina’s recently-deceased mother, someone fired a gun at them from another carriage, grazing Griffith’s head. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
First responders treated one person at the scene for a minor graze injury, officials said. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 3 Aug. 2026 Around the dozens of containers that make Toolik the US’s largest research station in the Arctic, musk ox and caribou graze on dwarf birches and fragrant labrador tea, while Arctic ground squirrels pop out of their burrows to survey the tundra. — Denise Hruby, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for graze
Recent Examples of Synonyms for graze
  1. pasture
  2. scrape
  3. brush
  4. bruise
  5. feed
  6. scratch
  7. kiss
  8. abrasion
Verb
  • In the 13th century, as the Magna Carta encoded the rights of English barons, the Carta de Foresta laid out the rights of commoners to pasture cattle in the open places among the English forests.
    — James Whorton Jr, Longreads, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Sadly, the last Blockbuster (aside from one defiant Bend, Oregon, outlier) went out to pasture in 2014, and independent video stores are an increasingly rare sight.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of pasture
Verb
  • Startup Hamlet has parsed tens of thousands of city council meetings by scraping local governments’ video recordings, tagging comments as friendly or hostile to a potential project.
    — J.D. Capelouto, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Last week, Meta faced backlash after legal experts warned that the tech giant’s sweeping new commercial terms of service seemed to give Meta permission to endlessly scrape websites linked on business pages.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of scrape
Verb
  • Lightly brush the borders with the egg wash, avoiding the cut edges.
    — Monti Carlo, AJC.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman brushed off talk of a fading dynasty, saying the team is focused on building a roster that can contend in 2027.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of brush
Noun
  • The responding Oak Bluffs police officers saw bruises on her legs and a red mark on her neck, Scalice said.
    — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Officers then cuffed the youngster as he was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized for a fractured femur and a nasty bruise on his head, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the teen’s dad, Mahmoud Saleh, in Brooklyn Federal Court.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of bruise
Verb
  • Ocean iron fertilization grew from the idea that iron-rich dust blown across the oceans during past ice ages fed blooms of phytoplankton, helping to lower atmospheric CO₂.
    — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In Denmark, Microsoft agreed to feed waste heat from a data center into a local district heating network, with the companies involved saying the project could cover the annual heating needs of approximately 6,000 households.
    — Zev Laine, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of feed
Verb
  • Starting left tackle Elijah Paige had been scratched in pregame warm-ups at Penn State.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Lee is forever grunting and scratching and clearing his throat.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of scratch
Verb
  • The apples of the cheeks should be touched with the a similar shade of bronze that may be kissing the eyelids, and layered under a fresh peach or tangerine, Schoen said.
    — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But Shauf is less a mystery author than the proprietor of an intricate dollhouse, making his figurines fight and kiss in cross-sectioned rooms.
    — Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of kiss
Noun
  • With grip and lightweight comfort, the latest footwear styles feature an Avalon® Gecko TPU sole complete with a lighter-than-rubber material that provides abrasion resistance and slip resistance on terrain in wet and dry conditions.
    — Fairchild Studio, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Most had abrasions and small cuts, and all but the driver have since been treated and released, authorities said Monday during a press briefing.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of abrasion

Browse Nearby Words

grays
graze
grazed
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Cite this Entry

“Graze.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/graze. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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