brouter

To graze, of animals eating grass — les vaches broutent dans le pré — and, in informal mechanical slang, ça broute describes a car engine or clutch juddering/stuttering.

• Les moutons broutent tranquillement dans le champ. — The sheep are grazing peacefully in the field.
• La vache broute l'herbe fraîche du matin. — The cow grazes on the fresh morning grass.
• L'embrayage broute quand je démarre. — The clutch judders when I pull away.

The mechanical slang sense (ça broute, for a juddering clutch or engine) is informal and specific to that context — outside talking about vehicles, brouter is simply the everyday word for grazing.