Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. 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.
- n. The sense of smell: a dog with a good nose.
- n. The ability to detect, sense, or discover as if by smell: has a nose for gossip.
- n. The characteristic smell of a wine or liqueur; bouquet.
- n. Informal The nose considered as a symbol of prying: Keep your nose out of my business.
- n. Something, such as the forward end of an aircraft, rocket, or submarine, that resembles a nose in shape or position.
- n. A very short distance or narrow margin: won the race by a nose.
- v. To find out by or as if by smell: nosed out the thieves' hiding place.
- v. To touch with the nose; nuzzle.
- v. To move, push, or make with or as if with the nose.
- v. To advance the forward part of cautiously: nosed the car into the flow of traffic.
- v. To smell or sniff.
- v. Informal To search or inquire meddlesomely; snoop or pry: nosing around looking for opportunities.
- v. To advance with caution: The ship nosed into its berth.
- nose out To defeat by a narrow margin.
- idiom. down (one's) nose Informal With disapproval, contempt, or arrogance: Year-round residents here look down their noses at the summer people.
- idiom. on the nose Exactly; precisely: predicted the final score on the nose.
- idiom. under (someone's) nose In plain view: The keys are right under your nose.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. 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. It is lined throughout by a highly vascular mucous membrane called the pituitary or Schneiderian, continuous with the skin through the nostrils, the conjunctiva of the eye, and the mucous membrane of the pharynx and sinuses. It is in this membrane that the fine filaments of the olfactory nerves terminate, and over it the inspired air containing odorous substances passes. The olfactory region, or that region to which the olfactory nerves are distributed, however, includes only the upper and middle turbinate parts of the nasal fossæ and the upper part of the septum; the lower part of the cavities has nothing to do with olfaction. Externally the nose commonly forms a prominent feature of the face or facial region of the head; when very long it becomes a proboscis, and may acquire a tactile or manual function, as in the elephant, hog, mole, etc. The nose of an animal when moderately prominent is usually called a snout, muzzle, or muffle. The bridge of the nose is so much of its external prominence as is bridged over or roofed in by the nasal bones. The external opening of the nose is the nostril, usually paired, right and left, and technically called
nares . The inner passages or cavities of the nose are the nasal fossœ or meatus; they open interiorly into the upper part of the pharynx, by oriflces called the posterior nares or choanœ, above the soft palate. The animal whose nose most resembles man's in size and shape is the proboscis-monkey, Nasalis larvatus, whose nose is more prominent than that of most men. Prominence of the nose is to some extent an indication of ascent in the scale of human development, the nose being flattest in the lowest or negroid races. A large nose is commonly supposed to indicate strength of character, and thin clean-cut nostrils are generally a sign of high nervous organization. Besides its special function of smelling, the nose has in all animals a respiratory office, being, rather than the mouth, the usual passageway for air in both inspiration and expiration; it also serves to modify or modulate the voice, and to discharge the secretion from several cavities of the head, as the frontal and other sinuses, and the tears from the eyes. See cuts under mouth, nasal, Nasalis, and Condylura. - n. Hence The sense of smell; the faculty of smelling, or the exercise of that faculty; scent; olfaction.
- n. Something supposed to resemble a nose. A pointed or tapering projection or part in front of an object, as of a ship or a pitcher.
- n. An informer.
- 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.
- n. A Middle English form of noise.
- n. In golf, the extreme end of a club opposite the neck or heel.
- In forestry, to round off the end of (a log) in order to make it drag or slip more easily. Also called snipe.
Wiktionary
- n. A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.
- n. A snout, the nose of an animal
- n. The tip of an object (e.g. the nose of a fighter plane).
- n. horse racing 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.
- n. Bouquet, the smell of something, especially wine.
- n. The skill in recognising bouquet.
- n. by extension Skill at finding information.
- v. intransitive To move cautiously.
- v. intransitive To snoop.
- v. transitive To detect by smell or as if by smell.
- v. transitive To push with one's nose.
- v. transitive To nuzzle.
- v. transitive To win by a narrow margin.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (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 under Olfactory.
- n. The power of smelling; hence, scent.
- n. A projecting end or beak at the front of an object; a snout; a nozzle; a spout
- v. To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out.
- v. To touch with the nose; to push the nose into or against; hence, to interfere with; to treat insolently.
- v. rare To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
- v. To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to; meet.
- v. To furnish with a nose.
- v. To examine with the nose or sense of smell.
- v. To make by advancing the nose or front end; .
- v. (Racing Slang) to beat by (the length of) a nose. to defeat in a contest by a small margin; also used in the form
nose out . - v. To push or move with the nose or front forward.
- v. To smell; to sniff; to scent.
- v. To pry officiously into what does not concern one; to nose around.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a symbol of inquisitiveness
- n. a front that resembles a human nose (especially the front of an aircraft)
- v. search or inquire in a meddlesome way
- v. push or move with the nose
- v. defeat by a narrow margin
- n. the sense of smell (especially in animals)
- n. the front or forward projection of a tool or weapon
- n. a projecting spout from which a fluid is discharged
- n. a natural skill
- n. the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
- v. catch the scent of; get wind of
- n. a small distance
- v. rub noses
- v. advance the forward part of with caution
Etymologies
- From Middle English nose, from Old English nosu, from Proto-Germanic *nusō (compare West Frisian noas, Dutch neus, Norwegian nos ‘snout’), variant of *nasō (cf. Low German Nees, German Nase, Norwegian nese ‘nose’), old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- ‘nose, nostril’ (compare Latin nāris ‘nostril’, nāsus ‘nose’, Lithuanian nósis, Russian нос (nos), Sanskrit नासा (nā́sā) ‘nostrils’). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English nosu. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I stuck my nose all the way down in there, and there was nothing other than *crinkled nose*.”
“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.
“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.
“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_.”
“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.”
“The officer in charge of this one knows as well as I do that a red nose is shorthand for a drunk.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Fermented in puncheons rather than stainless steel, the nose is almost chardonnay-like in its tropical fruit and banana fruit aromas with oak-born spice and light floral qualities.”
“It's 92% cabernet sauvignon and 8% petite verdot, and while the nose is a bit taut upon opening, with a little time to breath, sweet oak and vanilla aromas joined by those of raspberry jam, cherry pie and black pepper emerge.”
Martha Clara Vineyards 2005 Estate Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘nose’.
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CULI - wine-tasting adjectives
In this area of expertise nouns are frequently used as adjectives (almond, bacon, cider, diesel, fennel, fresh-cut hay, wool) or new adjectives are formed (appley, berrylike, citrusy, full-bodied, ...
acetic, acidic, aged, angular, appley, astringent, attractive, austere, berrylike, big, bitter, brawny and 511 more...
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Imprecise Units of Measurement
A list of terms for units of measurement that are less than exact, such as dessert-spoonful.
two shakes, dessert-spoonful, a pinch, a bit, some, smidge, smidgin, dollop, drop, fleck, smack, sprinkling and 187 more...
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Describing People
eye, hair, mouth, nose, tooth, head, face, arm, hand, finger, lip, leg and 212 more...
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words about piercings
needles, metal, piercing, tongue, surface, nape, ears, mouth, industrial, nose, tragus, webbing and 11 more...
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knack
know-how, art, hang, bent, flair, touch, method, nose, genius, gift, faculty, instinct and 14 more...
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[Open] Infrequentative
Non-frequentative verbs which also have a frequentative form (which you may add to the list “Frequentative”, if you like)
Examples include bob (bobble), busk (bustle), dab (dabble), ho...hove, stut, wag, dab, dart, spouse, sault, prate, swag, visé, cater, nose and 33 more...
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What's That Pokémon Name?
Words used to create the names of Pokémon, which are usually portmanteaux.
bulb, dinosaur, ivy, venus, char, salamander, squirt, turtle, blast, tortoise, water, caterpillar and 525 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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colleen's words
yellow, green, pie, blue, fur, people, incense, book, brown, avuncular, mountain, fog and 1316 more...
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Two years
Okay, I admit it. I made a list of words my daughter knew when she was two years old.
bat, baba, a, abalone, about, acorn, adrienne, after, again, airplane, alison, all and 694 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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Reading Reading
Words from the works of Peter Reading - at least one from each (except the Schwitters-esque erosions, cut-ups etc).
overbright, pimpled, muskiness, effuse, stoup, maul, unlevel, viscid, perfidious, glibly, aloes, drouth and 449 more...
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loinfruit's Words
buddy, hungry, hug, want, you, i, mommy, school, ballet, sign, sign language, language and 170 more...
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Fake Words List
These are made up words or words that are used outside of their definition. They are used daily by some peoples.
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My Dogs' Words
treat, potty, outside, mommie, mommielina, mommierenee, kisses, yes, no, love, sit, down and 186 more...
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Activated Phonemes
This list was generated by first taking a letter from the alphabet, or any of the initial cluster set of phonesthemes compiled by the ingenious Benjamin Shisler) and then sticking one of the suffix...
bing, ding, ging, jing, ling, ming, king, ping, ring, sing, ting, wing and 189 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for nose.

hernesheir
The parson's, pope's, and sultan's nose -
Upon the pavonine pygostyle repose. Dec 27, 2011
jmjarmstrong JM wonders if a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose? Aug 12, 2011
yarb Citation on sussurantly. Jun 19, 2009
danielwheeler a substitute for any swear word (ex. you nosing noser, kiss my nose, etc.) Nov 12, 2008