pacer
graze
Definition & meaning
Pacer means to graze or to feed on grass or other plants, especially of livestock or wild animals.
- Las vacas pacen en el prado. — “The cows graze in the meadow.”
- It can also describe animals feeding on vegetation more generally.
Grammar & word origin
Pacer is a verb in the infinitive form, belonging to the -er conjugation. It comes from Latin pascere, meaning “to feed” or “to pasture.”
It has an irregular first-person singular present form: yo pazco (“I graze”). Other common forms include pace (“he/she grazes”) and pacen (“they graze”).
Synonyms & antonyms
- Pastar — the closest synonym; it also means “to graze” or “to feed in a pasture.”
- Apacentar — usually means to lead or tend animals while they graze, so it emphasizes the herder’s role.
- Ramonear — to browse on leaves or shoots, rather than mainly grazing on grass.
There is no direct antonym. Words describing the opposite situation depend on the context; for example, ayunar means “to fast” or “to go without food,” not specifically “to stop grazing.”
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
Las vacas pacían tranquilamente en el campo.verb
The cows were grazing peacefully in the field.
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