nose

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. 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.
2. n. The sense of smell: a dog with a good nose.
3. n. The ability to detect, sense, or discover as if by smell: has a nose for gossip.
4. n. The characteristic smell of a wine or liqueur; bouquet.
5. n. Informal The nose considered as a symbol of prying: Keep your nose out of my business.
6. n. Something, such as the forward end of an aircraft, rocket, or submarine, that resembles a nose in shape or position.
7. n. A very short distance or narrow margin: won the race by a nose.
8. v. To find out by or as if by smell: nosed out the thieves' hiding place.
9. v. To touch with the nose; nuzzle.
10. v. To move, push, or make with or as if with the nose.
11. v. To advance the forward part of cautiously: nosed the car into the flow of traffic.
12. v. To smell or sniff.
13. v. Informal To search or inquire meddlesomely; snoop or pry: nosing around looking for opportunities.
14. v. To advance with caution: The ship nosed into its berth.
15. nose out To defeat by a narrow margin.
16. idiom. down (one's) nose Informal With disapproval, contempt, or arrogance: Year-round residents here look down their noses at the summer people.
17. idiom. on the nose Exactly; precisely: predicted the final score on the nose.
18. idiom. under (someone's) nose In plain view: The keys are right under your nose.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. 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.
2. n. Hence The sense of smell; the faculty of smelling, or the exercise of that faculty; scent; olfaction.
3. 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.
4. n. An informer.
5. To smell; scent.
6. To face; oppose to the face.
7. To utter in a nasal manner; twang through the nose.
8. To touch, feel, or examine with the nose; toss or rub with the nose.
9. To smell; sniff.
10. To pry curiously or in a meddlesome way.
11. In coal-mining. See the quotation.
12. n. A Middle English form of noise.
13. n. In golf, the extreme end of a club opposite the neck or heel.
14. In forestry, to round off the end of (a log) in order to make it drag or slip more easily. Also called snipe.

Wiktionary

1. n. A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell.
2. n. A snout, the nose of an animal
3. n. The tip of an object (e.g. the nose of a fighter plane).
4. 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.
5. n. Bouquet, the smell of something, especially wine.
6. n. The skill in recognising bouquet.
7. n. by extension Skill at finding information.
8. v. intransitive To move cautiously.
9. v. intransitive To snoop.
10. v. transitive To detect by smell or as if by smell.
11. v. transitive To push with one's nose.
12. v. transitive To nuzzle.
13. v. transitive To win by a narrow margin.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. 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.
2. n. The power of smelling; hence, scent.
3. n. A projecting end or beak at the front of an object; a snout; a nozzle; a spout
4. v. To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out.
5. v. To touch with the nose; to push the nose into or against; hence, to interfere with; to treat insolently.
6. v. rare To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
7. v. To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to; meet.
8. v. To furnish with a nose.
9. v. To examine with the nose or sense of smell.
10. v. To make by advancing the nose or front end; .
11. 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.
12. v. To push or move with the nose or front forward.
13. v. To smell; to sniff; to scent.
14. v. To pry officiously into what does not concern one; to nose around.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a symbol of inquisitiveness
2. n. a front that resembles a human nose (especially the front of an aircraft)
3. v. search or inquire in a meddlesome way
4. v. push or move with the nose
5. v. defeat by a narrow margin
6. n. the sense of smell (especially in animals)
7. n. the front or forward projection of a tool or weapon
8. n. a projecting spout from which a fluid is discharged
9. n. a natural skill
10. n. the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
11. v. catch the scent of; get wind of
12. n. a small distance
13. v. rub noses
14. v. advance the forward part of with caution