nose
/noʊ̯z/ verb C2- To move cautiously by advancing its front end. · The ship nosed through the minefield.
- To snoop. · She was nosing around other people’s business.
- To detect by smell or as if by smell.
- To push with one's nose; to nuzzle.
- To defeat (as in a race or other contest) by a narrow margin; sometimes with out.
- To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang.
- To furnish with a nose. · to nose a stair tread
- To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to.
He/she/it noses · Past nosed · Past participle nosed · -ing form nosing
Verb forms
- Base form
- nose
- He/she/it
- noses
- Past
- nosed
- Past participle
- nosed
- -ing form
- nosing
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
“You are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as ever; Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose— What made you so awfully clever?”
At this moment the door of the house opened, and a large plate came skimming out, straight at the Footman’s head: it just grazed his nose, and broke to pieces against one of the trees behind him.
“Oh, there goes his _precious_ nose!” as an unusually large saucepan flew close by it, and very nearly carried it off.
There could be no doubt that it had a _very_ turn-up nose, much more like a snout than a real nose; also its eyes were getting extremely small for a baby: altogether Alice did not like the look of the thing at all.
Other matches
Learn nose in real texts
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