Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The part of the human face or the forward part of the head of other vertebrates that contains the nostrils and organs of smell and forms the beginning of the respiratory tract.
- noun The sense of smell.
- noun The ability to detect, sense, or discover as if by smell.
- noun The characteristic smell of a wine or liqueur; bouquet.
- noun Informal The nose considered as a symbol of prying.
- noun Something, such as the forward end of an aircraft, rocket, or submarine, that resembles a nose in shape or position.
- noun A very short distance or narrow margin.
- intransitive verb To find out by or as if by smell.
- intransitive verb To touch with the nose; nuzzle.
- intransitive verb To move, push, or make with or as if with the nose.
- intransitive verb To advance the forward part of cautiously.
- intransitive verb To smell or sniff.
- intransitive verb Informal To search or inquire meddlesomely; snoop or pry.
- intransitive verb To advance with caution.
- idiom (down (one's) nose) With disapproval, contempt, or arrogance.
- idiom (on the nose) Exactly; precisely.
- idiom (under (someone's) nose) In plain view.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A Middle English form of
noise . - noun The special organ of the sense of smell, formed by modifications of certain bones and fleshy parts of the face, its cavities, or fossæ, freely communicable with the cavities of the mouth and lungs, and hence also concerned in respiration, the utterance of words or vocal sounds, and taste.
- noun Hence The sense of smell; the faculty of smelling, or the exercise of that faculty; scent; olfaction.
- noun Something supposed to resemble a nose.
- noun An informer.
- In forestry, to round off the end of (a log) in order to make it drag or slip more easily. Also called
snipe . - noun In golf, the extreme end of a club opposite the neck or heel.
- To smell; scent.
- To face; oppose to the face.
- To utter in a nasal manner; twang through the nose.
- To touch, feel, or examine with the nose; toss or rub with the nose.
- To smell; sniff.
- To pry curiously or in a meddlesome way.
- In coal-mining. See the quotation.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To push or move with the nose or front forward.
- intransitive verb To smell; to sniff; to scent.
- intransitive verb To pry officiously into what does not concern one; to
nose around . - transitive verb To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out.
- transitive verb To touch with the nose; to push the nose into or against; hence, to interfere with; to treat insolently.
- transitive verb rare To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
- transitive verb To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to; meet.
- transitive verb To furnish with a nose.
- transitive verb To examine with the nose or sense of smell.
- transitive verb To make by advancing the nose or front end;
- transitive verb (Racing Slang) to beat by (the length of) a nose.
- noun (Anat.) The prominent part of the face or anterior extremity of the head containing the nostrils and olfactory cavities; the olfactory organ. See
Nostril , and Olfactory organ underOlfactory . - noun The power of smelling; hence, scent.
- noun A projecting end or beak at the front of an object; a snout; a nozzle; a spout
- noun (Carp.) a bit similar to a gouge bit, but having a cutting edge on one side of its boring end.
- noun (Mach.) a frontal hammer.
- noun (Glass Making) a small opening in a furnace, before which a globe of crown glass is held and kept soft at the beginning of the flattening process.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I stuck my nose all the way down in there, and there was nothing other than *crinkled nose*.
Archive 2005-05-01 2005
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I stuck my nose all the way down in there, and there was nothing other than *crinkled nose*.
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Fracture of nasal bones -- Deformities of nose: _Saddle nose_; _Partial and complete destruction of nose_; _Restoration of nose_;
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. Alexander Miles 1893
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The deformity sometimes consists in a lateral deviation of the nose, but more frequently in flattening of the bridge -- _traumatic saddle nose_.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. Alexander Miles 1893
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In drenching, swallowing may be hastened by pouring into the nose of the horse, while the head is high, a few teaspoonfuls of clean water, but _drenches must never be given through the nose_.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse Charles B. Michener 1877
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The one the right side of my nose from the Mohs surgery that reshaped my nose is a symbol of life's fragility every time I look in the mirror.
Lea Lane: Scars of a Life Lea Lane 2010
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The officer in charge of this one knows as well as I do that a red nose is shorthand for a drunk.
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The officer in charge of this one knows as well as I do that a red nose is shorthand for a drunk.
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Right out of the bottle, the nose is a little taut and doesn't offer much, but with a little coaxing, bright, fresh aromas of juicy pear citrus and sweet basil emerge.
Long Island Dines 2009
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At first, the nose is a bit austere, but as it warmed just a bit out of the fridge classic aromas of rose petals reach up out of the glass, along with gingery spice and sweet tropical fruit notes.
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“Nose wipers” refer to the large protective gloves used in extreme weather conditions, while being “tray’d” refers to the last person to put their dish in the dishwasher after a meal and who now must empty it.
Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang Eva Corlett 2024
danielwheeler commented on the word nose
a substitute for any swear word (ex. you nosing noser, kiss my nose, etc.)
November 12, 2008
yarb commented on the word nose
Citation on sussurantly.
June 19, 2009
jmjarmstrong commented on the word nose
JM wonders if a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?
August 13, 2011
hernesheir commented on the word nose
The parson's, pope's, and sultan's nose -
Upon the pavonine pygostyle repose.
December 27, 2011