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Definition of peruse - 4 dictionary results

pe⋅ruse

  [puh-rooz]
Use peruse in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -rused, -rus⋅ing.
1. to read through with thoroughness or care: to peruse a report.
2. to read.
3. to survey or examine in detail.
Origin:
1470–80 in sense “use up, go through”; 1525–35 for current senses; per- + use

Related forms:
pe⋅rus⋅a⋅ble, adjective
pe⋅rus⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To peruse
pe·ruse   (pə-rōōz')   
tr.v.   pe·rused, pe·rus·ing, pe·rus·es
To read or examine, typically with great care.

[Middle English perusen, to use up : Latin per-, per- + Middle English usen, to use; see use.]
pe·rus'a·ble adj., pe·rus'al n., pe·rus'er n.
Usage Note: Peruse has long meant "to read thoroughly" and is often used loosely when one could use the word read instead, as in The librarians checked to see which titles had been perused in the last month and which been left untouched. Seventy percent of the Usage Panel rejected this example in our 1999 survey. Sometimes people use it to mean "to glance over, skim," as in I only had a moment to peruse the manual quickly, but this usage is widely considered an error. In a 1988 survey, 66 percent of the Panel found it unacceptable, and in 1999, 58 percent still rejected it.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Peruse

Pe*ruse"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Perused; p. pr. & vb. n. Perusing.] [Pref. per- + use.]

1. To observe; to examine with care. [R.]

Myself I then perused, and limb by limb Surveyed. --Milton.

2. To read through; to read carefully. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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peruse 
1479, "use up, wear out, go through," from M.E. per- "completely" + use (q.v.). Meaning "read carefully" is first recorded 1532, but this may be a separate formation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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