read to look at and understand the words in a book, magazine, letter etc for interest, enjoyment, or study:
What book are you reading at the moment? I usually read the newspaper on the way to work.flick/flip/leaf through something to turn the pages of a book, magazine etc quickly, looking for things that might interest you:
While I was waiting, I flicked through a magazine. She was flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia. Cunningham was leafing through a copy of the Financial Times at his desk amidst a cloud of cigar-smoke.browse through something to spend time looking through a book, magazine etc without any clear purpose, looking for things that might interest you:
Would you like to browse through our holiday brochure?skim/scan (through) something to read something quickly to get the main ideas or find a particular piece of information:
I want you to skim through the article and write a short summary of it. Tony scanned the menu for a vegetarian option.pore over something to read something very carefully for a long time:
They spent weeks poring over guidebooks and planning their holiday.devour something /dɪˈvaʊə $ -ˈvaʊr/ to read something quickly and eagerly:
Her young fans devour her books.dip into something to read short parts of something:
It’s a book you can dip into rather than read from cover to cover.plough/wade through something to read something long and boring:
He’s upstairs ploughing through financial reports. I can’t possibly wade through all this.surf the Net/Internet/Web to look quickly through information on the Internet, stopping to read what interests you:
I was surfing the Net, trying to find my ideal job. [TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲