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Definition of 'nose'

Word Frequency

nose

(noʊz )

Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense noses , present participle nosing , past tense, past participle nosed

1. countable noun [oft poss NOUN]

Your nose is the part of your face which sticks out above your mouth. You use it for smelling and breathing.

She wiped her nose with a tissue.

She's got funny eyes and a big nose.

Synonyms: snout, bill, beak [slang], hooter [slang] More Synonyms of nose

2. countable noun [oft poss NOUN]

The nose of a vehicle such as a car or aeroplane is the front part of it.

Sue parked off the main street, with the van's nose pointing away from the street.

3. countable noun

You can refer to your sense of smell as your nose.

The river that runs through Middlesbrough became ugly on the eye and hard on the nose.

4. singular noun [usu by a N]

If a horse wins a race by a nose, it wins by a very small distance.

[mainly US]

Chirkpar rattled past him on the right to snatch the prize by a nose.

5. verb

If a vehicle noses in a certain direction or if you nose it there, you move it slowly and carefully in that direction.

He could not see the driver as the car nosed forward. [VERB adverb/preposition]

A motorboat nosed out of the mist and nudged into the branches of a tree. [VERB adverb/preposition]

Ben drove past them, nosing his car into the garage. [VERB noun preposition/adverb]

6. See also hard-nosed, toffee-nosed

7.

See to keep your nose clean

8.

See to follow your nose

9.

See follow one's nose

10.

See have a nose for sth

11.

See get up sb's nose

12.

See to look down your nose at someone

13.

See to pay through the nose

14.

See to poke your nose into something

15.

See rub sb's nose in sth

16.

See to cut off your nose to spite your face

17.

See nose to tail

18.

See to thumb your nose at someone

19.

See turn up one's nose at sth

20.

See under sb's nose

21. to put someone's nose out of joint

Phrasal verbs:

See nose around

More Synonyms of nose

COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

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nose

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'parts of an aircraft'

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Word Frequency

nose in British English

(nəʊz )

noun

1.

the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract, consisting of a prominent structure divided into two hair-lined air passages by a median septum

▶ Related adjectives: nasal, rhinal

2.

the sense of smell itself: in hounds and other animals, the ability to follow trails by scent (esp in the phrases a good nose, a bad nose)

3. another word for bouquet (sense 2)

4.

instinctive skill or facility, esp in discovering things (sometimes in the phrase follow one's nose)

she had a nose for good news stories

5. Also called: noser

a person employed by a distillery or other alcohol-producing industry to test the quality of the product by smell

6.

any part regarded as resembling a nose in form or function, such as a nozzle or spout

7.

the forward part of a vehicle, aircraft, etc, esp the front end of an aircraft

8.

narrow margin of victory (in the phrase (win) by a nose)

9. See cut off one's nose to spite one's face

10. See get up someone's nose

11. See keep one's nose clean

12. See keep one's nose to the grindstone

13. See lead someone by the nose

14. See look down one's nose at

15. See nose to tail

16. See on the nose

17. See pay through the nose

18. See poke one's nose into

19. See put someone's nose out of joint

20. See rub someone's nose in it

21. See see no further than one's nose

22. See turn up one's nose

23. See under one's nose

24. See with one's nose in the air

verb

25. (transitive)

(esp of horses, dogs, etc) to rub, touch, or sniff with the nose; nuzzle

26.

to smell or sniff (wine, etc)

27. (intr; usually foll by after or for)

to search (for) by or as if by scent

28.

to move or cause to move forwards slowly and carefully

the car nosed along the cliff top

we nosed the car into the garage

29. (intr; foll by into, around, about, etc)

to pry or snoop (into) or meddle (in)

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Derived forms

noseless (ˈnoseless)

adjective

noselike (ˈnoseˌlike)

adjective

Word origin

Old English nosu; related to Old Frisian nose, Norwegian nosa to smell and nus smell

Word Frequency

nose in American English

(noʊz )

noun

1.

the part of the human face between the mouth and the eyes, having two openings and cavities behind them for breathing and smelling

2.

the part that corresponds to this in animals; snout, muzzle, etc.

3.

the sense of smell

4.

the overall smell of a wine; bouquet

5.

the power of tracking or perceiving by or as if by scent

a nose for news

6.

anything resembling a nose in shape or position; projecting or foremost part, as a nozzle, spout, prow of a ship, front of an airplane, etc.

7.

the nose regarded as a symbol of prying or meddling

to poke one's nose into another's affairs

8. Slang

a police spy or informer

verb transitiveWord forms: nosed or ˈnosing

9.

to discover or perceive by or as if by the sense of smell

10.

to touch or rub with the nose

11.

to push with the nose

with aside, open, etc.

12.

to make or push (a way, etc.) cautiously or slowly with the front forward

the ship nosed its way into the harbor

verb intransitive

13.

to smell; sniff

14.

to pry inquisitively

15.

to move cautiously or slowly with the front end forward

Idioms:

cut off one's nose to spite one's face

follow one's nose

have one's nose out of joint

lead by the nose

look down one's nose at

pay through the nose

put someone's nose out of joint

rub someone's nose in

turn up one's nose at

under one's (very) nose

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Word origin

ME < OE nosu, akin to Ger nase, orig. a dual, meaning “the two nostrils” < IE base *nas-, nostril > Sans nāsā, the nose, lit., pair of nostrils, L nasus, nose & naris (pl. nares), nostril

Examples of 'nose' in a sentence
nose

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.Read more…

His perfect job was right under his nose all along.His image transformation has long given rise to rumours that he has had a nose job.If the company keeps its nose clean they should recover further.All that house dust can get right up your nose.The world would be a happier place if these footballers stopped rubbing our noses in their obscene wealth.We had to really work hard then show a bit of quality at the end to get our noses in front.Dec said:'We are going to rub his nose in a little bit.This is another clear case of how easy it is to miss something right under your nose.I'VE been having problems with my nose for the past few months.She messed around trying to touch her nose with her tongue.

Show more...

Quotations

Give me a man with a good allowance of noseNapoleon Bonaparte

Word lists with
nose

parts of an aircraft, parts of an aircraft

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

-

Score: 0 / 5

Which part of an aircraft am I?

the assembly of wheels, shock absorbers, struts, etc, that supports an aircraft on the ground and enables it to take off and land

landing gear undercarriage winglet

Which part of an aircraft am I?

a streamlined enclosure on an aircraft, not part of the fuselage, to accommodate an engine, passengers, crew, etc

nacelle pod pylon

Which part of an aircraft am I?

the middle section of an aircraft fuselage

keel waist winglet

Which part of an aircraft am I?

a panel on which instruments are mounted, as on an aircraft

ejection seat inclinometer instrument panel

Which part of an aircraft am I?

a similar structure on an aircraft that houses one or more guns and sometimes a gunner

altimeter elevon turret

Your score:

COBUILD Collocations
nose

pierce the nose

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Trends of
nose

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In other languages
nose

British English: nose /nəʊz/ NOUN

Your nose is the part of your face which sticks out above your mouth. You use it for smelling and breathing.

She wiped her nose with a tissue.

American English: nose /ˈnoʊz/
Arabic: أَنْفٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: nariz
Chinese: 鼻
Croatian: nos
Czech: nos
Danish: næse
Dutch: neus
European Spanish: nariz
Finnish: nenä
French: nez
German: Nase
Greek: μύτη
Italian: naso
Japanese: 鼻
Korean: 코
Norwegian: nese
Polish: nos
European Portuguese: nariz
Romanian: nas
Russian: нос
Latin American Spanish: nariz
Swedish: näsa
Thai: จมูก
Turkish: burun
Ukrainian: ніс
Vietnamese: mũi

British English: nose VERB /nəʊz/

If a vehicle noses in a certain direction or if you nose it there, you move it slowly and carefully in that direction.

He could not see the driver as the car nosed forward.

American English: nose /ˈnoʊz/
Brazilian Portuguese: mover-se
Chinese: 缓慢行驶
European Spanish: avanzar lentamente
French: avancer lentement
German: sich schieben
Italian: avanzare
Japanese: ゆっくり注意深く前進する
Korean: 천천히 움직이다
European Portuguese: nariz
Latin American Spanish: avanzar lentamente

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nose

Related terms of
nose

Source

Definition of nose from the Collins English Dictionary

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Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

-

Score: 0 / 5

chord or cord?

Which version is correct?

The door had been tied shut with a length of nylon chord. The door had been tied shut with a length of nylon cord.

leak or leek?

Which version is correct?

Add the diced onion, carrot and leak. Add the diced onion, carrot and leek.

dual or duel?

Which version is correct?

He was killed in a dual during the Civil War. He was killed in a duel during the Civil War.

earn or urn?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

urn

earn

She's sitting over next to the tea .

knew or new?

Which version is correct?

Her classmates knew nothing about her. Her classmates new nothing about her.

Your score:

Jun 27, 2021

Word of the day

Perseid

any member of a meteor shower occurring annually around August 12th, appearing to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus and derived from comet Swift-Tuttle

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Scrabble score
for 'nose':
4

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Question: 1

-

Score: 0 / 5

cymbal or symbol?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

symbol

cymbal

A dove is a of peace.

bloc or block?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

block

bloc

We walked around the three times.

threw or through?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

threw

through

He Brian a rope.

forth or fourth?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

fourth

forth

He ended up in place.

peal or peel?

Drag the correct answer into the box.

peel

peal

Paint was starting to off the walls.

Your score:

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