nose

Pronunciation: /nəʊz/

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Definition of nose

noun

1the part projecting above the mouth on the face of a person or animal, containing the nostrils and used for breathing and smelling: he slowly breathed out the air through his nose he pushed his glasses higher on to the bridge of his nose the dog pressed his nose into the palm of my hand
[in singular] the sense of smell, especially a dog’s ability to track something by its scent:a dog with a keen nose
[in singular] an instinctive talent for detecting something:he has a nose for a good script
the aroma of a particular substance, especially wine: the wine has a raspberry nose and a clean taste white peaches are particularly appreciated for their perfumed aromatic nose

2the front end of an aircraft, car, or other vehicle: the plane’s nose dipped as it started descending towards the runway
a projecting part of something:the nose of the saddle

3 [in singular] an act of looking around or prying:she wanted a good nose round the house
informal a police informer: he knew that CID men are allowed to drink on duty as much of their time is spent with noses

verb

1 [no object, with adverbial of place] (of an animal) thrust its nose against or into something:the pony nosed at the straw
[with object] smell or sniff (something): because of its strength, whisky is nosed rather than tasted Mario’s gun dog nosed the carcass

2 [no object] look around or pry into something:I was anxious to get inside and nose around her house she’s always nosing into my business
[with object] detect by diligent searching:he nosed out the signs of trespass

3 [no object, with adverbial of direction] (of a vehicle) move cautiously forward:he turned left and nosed into an empty parking space
(of a competitor) manage to achieve a leading position by a small margin:they nosed ahead by one point

Phrases

by a nose: (of a victory) by a very narrow margin: first over the line was Shemaka, but only by a nose
count noses: count people in order to determine the numbers in a vote: we count noses at Church conventions
cut off one's nose to spite one's face: disadvantage oneself through a wilful attempt to gain an advantage or assert oneself: by cutting Third World aid to reduce public spending, the government would be cutting off its nose to spite its face
get one's nose in front: manage to achieve a winning or leading position: she got her nose in front at the eighth hole
get up someone's nose: British informal irritate or annoy someone: I bet it really gets up your nose that I’ve been so successful
give someone a bloody nose: inflict a resounding defeat on someone: voters gave the government a bloody nose in the county elections
have one's nose in a book: be reading studiously or intently: Kate always had her nose in a book and liked people in history better than people now
keep one's nose clean: informal stay out of trouble: he tried to keep his nose clean with socially useful work
keep one's nose out of: informal refrain from interfering in (someone else’s affairs): ‘Why don’t you keep your nose out of my business?’ he demanded
keep one's nose to the grindstone: see grindstone.
nose to tail: British (of vehicles) moving or standing close behind one another, especially in heavy traffic: the traffic grinds nose to tail along the road towards Windermere
not see further than one's (or the end of one's) nose: fail to consider different possibilities or to foresee the consequences of one’s actions.
on the nose
put someone's nose out of joint: informal offend someone or hurt their pride: she likes being the queen bee, and you’ve put her nose out of joint
turn one's nose up at: informal show distaste or contempt for:he turned his nose up at the job
under someone's nose: directly in front of someone: he thrust the paper under the Inspector’s nose figurativethe series was whisked away from under the noses of BBC radio to become one of Channel 4's biggest successes; (of an action) committed openly and boldly but without anyone noticing:he made a pass at John’s wife, right under his nose and in his own house
with one's nose in the air: haughtily: she walked past the cars with her nose in the air

Derivatives

nosed: [in combination]:snub-nosed
noseless

Origin:

Old English nosu, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch neus, and more remotely to German Nase, Latin nasus, and Sanskrit nāsā; also to ness

nose in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of nose in the US English dictionary

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Other

nose

noun

verb

Phrases

by a nose

count noses

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

get one's nose in front

get up someone's nose

give someone a bloody nose

have one's nose in a book

keep one's nose clean

keep one's nose out of

keep one's nose to the grindstone

nose to tail

not see further than one's (or the end of one's) nose

on the nose

put someone's nose out of joint

turn one's nose up at

under someone's nose

with one's nose in the air

Derivatives

nosed

noseless

Origin:

nose in other Oxford dictionaries

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