Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A loop formed in a rope by means of a slipknot so that it binds tighter as the rope is pulled.
  • noun A snare or trap.
  • transitive verb To capture or hold by or as if by a noose.
  • transitive verb To make a noose of or in.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A running knot or slip-knot. See slip-knot.
  • noun A loop formed by or fastened with a running knot or slip-knot, as that in a hangman's halter, or in a lasso; hence, a snare; a gin.
  • To knot; entangle in or as in a knot.
  • To catch or insnare by or as by a noose.
  • To furnish with a noose or running knot.
  • To decorate with something resembling a noose.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A running knot, or loop, which binds the closer the more it is drawn.
  • transitive verb To tie in a noose; to catch in a noose; to entrap; to insnare.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An adjustable loop of rope, e.g. the one placed around the neck in hangings, or the one at the end of a lasso.
  • verb transitive To tie or catch in a noose; to entrap or ensnare.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a loop formed in a cord or rope by means of a slipknot; it binds tighter as the cord or rope is pulled
  • verb make a noose in or of
  • verb secure with a noose
  • noun a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English nose, probably from Old French nos, nous, knot, from Latin nōdus; see node.]

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Examples

  • For republicans hanging a noose is a prank and suggesting shooting the first real contender black president is benign ...

    Huckabee: 'Lousy joke' but 'pretty benign issue' 2008

  • No sirree bob, a noose is a racially charged reminder of a small period in history, characterised by a stereotypical image ... even when it isn't actually a noose.

    Modern Day Disappearance archmage 2007

  • They also show us what they describe as a noose, where they say the Arabs hanged hundreds of prisoners.

    CNN Transcript Nov 26, 2001 2001

  • That conversation was the initial groundwork for subsequent brainstorming in the newsroom that methodically evolved into plans for a broad newsroom initiative to address what I characterize as a noose around Battle Creek's neck.

    battlecreekenquirer.com - 2008

  • “Mr. President,” he projected in a baritone voice that radiated both power and confidence, “the Eridani have retreated into a small defensive shell, and our noose is tightening.”

    365 tomorrows » Patricia Stewart : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2010

  • “Mr. President,” he projected in a baritone voice that radiated both power and confidence, “the Eridani have retreated into a small defensive shell, and our noose is tightening.”

    365 tomorrows » 2009 » September : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2009

  • CBS report that: A Halloween decoration showing a mannequin dressed as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hanging by a noose from the roof of a West Hollywood home is drawing giggles from some passers-by and gasps of outrage from others.

    Archive 2008-10-01 Not a sheep 2008

  • A noose is hastily slung over a rafter and after George does a short dance on it, he is convinced to donate his help and ends up beating everybody to the Indian camp.

    “I am only a wild girl, and I am afraid of the world....” 2008

  • There are still, of course, sectors of American society where the crude racism of the epithet and the noose is casually accepted.

    Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist? 2008

  • The noose is seen as a symbol of lynching, the practice of white mobs executing blacks, sometimes under the eyes of passive law-enforcement officials.

    Archive 2007-10-01 2007

Comments

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  • c1604 Charlemagne (1938) V. 79 Am I then noossd..am I lymed.

    May 8, 2008