How to say that "not watching a movie continuously"?

Question

I feel awkward when I am trying to express this. Sometimes when we watch a movie on a computer, we don't watch it from the beginning to the end. In this case, is there a verb or phrase that native speakers of English uses to say something like

I didn't watch the whole movie, I just ___ it on my computer.

Answer 1

Skate over/around — Cambridge

To avoid dealing completely with something or to fail to pay enough attention to it.

"I didn't understand what the teacher said about prepositions, because she only skated over it."

Skim over — ODO

3.1. Deal with or treat (a subject) briefly or superficially

"she skimmed over her meeting with Roger—it had suddenly become rather difficult to speak of him"

Usually used in the context of reading, but can be extended to watching movies.

Skim through — TFD

To go through some reading material quickly or superficially

"I skimmed through the movie listings to see what was playing."

Cast/run one's eye over — M-W

to read or look at (something) quickly.

"Please run your eye over this and let me know what you think."

Answer 2

You might try skipped through:

I didn't watch the whole movie, I just skipped through it on my computer.

Answer 3

piecemeal

Sometimes I resort to watching movies on my phone, piecemeal. Not ideal but hey...you work with the schedule you've got.

Here are some great movie choices to watch piecemeal on the treadmill, bike or elliptical to make 45 minutes seem like 15.

Answer 4

The word sittings can also be used, but in a slightly different context:

I watched the movie in multiple/several sittings instead of one.

Answer 5

in chunks

Let's talk about watching a movie in chunks, rather than all at once.

TikTok's latest trend? Watching movies in 3-minute chunks.

I always watch movie in parts. I dont know when it began, maybe two years back. Before that I used to watch movies at one go.