English Explanatory Dictionary

nose

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.
  2. A snout, the nose of an animal.
  3. The tip of an object.
  4. The bulge on the side of a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, that fits into the hole of its adjacent piece.
  5. The length of a horse’s nose, used to indicate the distance between horses at the finish of a race, or any very close race.
  6. A perfumer.
  7. The sense of smell.
  8. Bouquet, the smell of something, especially wine.
  9. The skill in recognising bouquet.
  10. Skill at finding information.
  11. The action of nosing, in the sense to snoop
  12. A downward projection from a cornice.
verb
  1. To move cautiously by advancing its front end.
  2. To snoop.
  3. To detect by smell or as if by smell.
  4. To push with one's nose; to nuzzle.
  5. To defeat (as in a race or other contest) by a narrow margin; sometimes with out.
  6. To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
  7. To furnish with a nose.
  8. To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to.
  9. To dive down in a steep angle; to nosedive
  10. To travel with the nose of the plane/ship aimed in a particular direction.

Pronunciation

nōz [nəʊ̯z] LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-nose.wav [nəwz] En-uk-nose.ogg [noːz] [noʊ̯z] en-us-nose.ogg

Word forms

nose noses nosing nosed

Etymology

From Middle English nose, from Old English nosu, from Proto-West Germanic *nosu, variant of *nasō, old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- (“nose, nostril”). See also Saterland Frisian Noose, West Frisian noas, Dutch neus, Swedish nos, Norwegian nos (“snout”), Low German Nääs, German Nase, Swedish näsa, Norwegian nese, Danish næse (“nose”); also Latin nāris (“nostril”), nāsus (“nose”), Lithuanian nósis, Russian нос (nos), Sanskrit नासा (nā́sā, “nostrils”).

Synonyms

nose beak beezer boko conk honker hooter neb pecker proboscis schnozz schnozzle schnozzola schnoz smeller sneck sniffer snitch snoot snotbox snout trunk tab drip nark

Related words

rhino- brownnose cut off one's nose to spite one's face get up someone's nose hard-nosed in front of one's nose I've got your nose keep one's nose clean keep one's pecker up look down one's nose the nose knows nose out of joint nose to the grindstone no skin off one's nose on the nose pay through the nose plain as the nose on one's face poke one's nose into powder one's nose see past the end of one's nose stick one's nose in stick one's nose into toffee-nosed under one's nose win by a nose

Derived words

aquiline nose Australasian pig-nose turtle banana-nose banana nose bignose bishop's nose blacknose bloodied nose blood nose bloody nose blow one's nose bluenose blue-nosed bluntnose bottlenose bottle-nose bottle-nose dolphin brownnose bullet-nose bullnose bull's nose button nose camel's nose cherry nose clown nose coke nose conenose copper nose cownose cut off one's nose to spite one's face dicknose dog-nose dog's nose Dudley nose ear, nose and throat empty nose syndrome e-nose flatnose follow one's nose fucknose get up someone's nose give someone a bloody nose hard-nose hard nose have someone's nose wide open hawknose hawk-nose hawk nose hognose hold one's nose hold one's nose up hooknose in front of one's nose I've got your nose Jewish nose Jew nose Jew's nose Jolly Nose keep one's nose clean largenose
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