This is for my English class: Without using a dictionary, what do you think the word "peruse" means?

It's to look through something in order to find the relevant part.

You would .. for example .. "peruse" the small ads in a newspaper.

You wouldn't actually be reading them all carefully .. you're just looking for the ones that you were interested in.

The word actually means to read or glance at written text.

Study, or contemplate, as in, "He perused the dinner menu."

explore

The verb "to peruse" means "to look over something, usually written material, in a general way, without going into too much detail".

In older times it meant "to study a document in full detail", as noted by Chris P, but in Britain, in my lifetime (70 years), it has usually meant the brief overview.

If you peruse something such as a letter, article, or document, you read it.

"We perused the company's financial statements for the past five years.

She found the information while she was perusing a copy of Life magazine."

browse, primarily, although it does have a meaning similar to scan or skim when dealing with documents, but carrying a stronger idea of actually examining than either scan or skim would have (greater attention to details).

Think about something.or consider it.

Don't need a dictionary to know it means To look at closely

To examine something closely and in detail. Usually applies to written text, but I suppose it could apply to many other things.