“noses” is a form of
nose
UK [nəʊ̯z] · US [noʊ̯z] noun, verb
Forms noses nosing nosed
- noun A protuberance on the face housing the nostrils, which are used to breathe or smell. “She had a small nose between two sparkling blue eyes.”
- noun A snout, the nose of an animal.
- noun The tip of an object. “the nose of a tea-kettle, a bellows, or a fighter plane”
- noun The bulge on the side of a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, that fits into the hole of its adjacent piece.
- noun (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. “Red Rum only won by a nose.”
- noun (perfumery) A perfumer.
- noun The sense of smell.
- noun (idiomatic) Bouquet, the smell of something, especially wine.
- verb (intransitive) To move cautiously by advancing its front end. “The ship nosed through the minefield.”
- verb (intransitive, idiomatic, also followed by around or about, in which case, ambitransitive) To snoop. “She was nosing around other people’s business.”
- verb (transitive) To detect by smell or as if by smell.
- verb (transitive) To push with one's nose; to nuzzle.
- verb (transitive) To defeat (as in a race or other contest) by a narrow margin; sometimes with out.
- verb (transitive) To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang. “to nose a prayer”
- verb (transitive) To furnish with a nose. “to nose a stair tread”
- verb (transitive) To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to.
Synonyms
tab drip nark beak beezer boko conk honker hooter neb pecker proboscis schnozz schnozzle schnozzola schnoz smeller sneck sniffer snitch olfactory organ nozzle intrude horn in pry poke scent wind nuzzle
Etymology
From Middle English nose, from Old English nosu, from Proto-West Germanic *nosu, variant of *nasō, old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- (“nose, nostril”).
See also Saterland Frisian Noose, West Frisian noas, Dutch neus, Swedish nos, Norwegian nos (“snout”), Low German Nääs, German Nase, Swedish näsa, Norwegian nese, Danish næse (“nose”); also Latin nāris (“nostril”), nāsus (“nose”), Lithuanian nósis, Russian нос (nos), Sanskrit नासा (nā́sā, “nostrils”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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.
- noun The power of smelling; hence, scent.
- verb To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out.
- verb To touch with the nose; to push the nose into or against; hence, to interfere with; to treat insolently.
Etymology [AS. nosu; akin to D. neus, G. nase, OHG. nasa, Icel. nös, Sw. näsa, Dan. näse, Lith. nosis, Russ. nos', L. nasus, nares, Skr. nasa, nas. Nasal, Nasturtium, Naze, Nostril, Nozzle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nose”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details