I. nose 1 S2 W2 /nəʊz $ noʊz/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: nosu ]
1 . ON YOUR FACE [countable] the part of a person’s or animal’s face used for smelling or breathing ⇨ nasal , nostril :
Someone punched him on the nose.
2 . (right) under sb’s nose
a) if something bad or illegal happens under someone’s nose, they do not notice it even though it is happening very close to them and they should have noticed it:
The drugs were smuggled in right under the noses of the security guards.
b) if something is right under someone’s nose, they cannot see it even though it is very close to them:
The key was right under my nose all the time.
3 . stick/poke your nose into something to become involved in something that does not concern you, in a way that annoys people ⇨ nosy :
She always has to stick her nose into matters that do not concern her.
4 . keep your nose out (of something) spoken to avoid becoming involved in something that does not concern you:
I wish he’d keep his nose out of my business!
5 . turn your nose up (at something) informal to refuse to accept something because you do not think it is good enough for you:
My children turn their noses up at home cooking.
6 . with your nose in the air behaving as if you are more important than other people and not talking to them:
She just walked past with her nose in the air.
7 . have a (good) nose for something to be naturally good at finding and recognizing something:
a reporter with a good nose for a story
8 . get (right) up sb’s nose British English spoken to annoy someone very much:
I wish he wouldn’t keep interrupting. It really gets up my nose.
9 . keep your nose clean spoken to make sure you do not get into trouble, or do anything wrong or illegal:
Sid’s got to keep his nose clean or he’ll end up back in prison.
10 . on the nose American English spoken exactly:
He gets up at 6 a.m. on the nose every morning.
11 . keep your nose to the grindstone informal to work very hard, without stopping to rest:
Jim had decided he was going to keep his nose to the grindstone.
12 . have your nose in a book/magazine/newspaper to be reading a book etc, especially with a lot of interest:
She always had her nose in a book.
13 . by a nose if a horse wins a race by a nose, it only just wins
14 . have a nose around British English spoken to look around a place in order to try to find something, when there is no one else there
15 . put sb’s nose out of joint informal to annoy someone, especially by attracting everyone’s attention away from them:
His nose has been put a bit out of joint ever since Marion got here.
16 . nose to tail especially British English cars, buses etc that are nose to tail are in a line without much space between them:
Traffic was nose to tail for three miles.
17 . PLANE [countable] the pointed front end of a plane, ↑ rocket etc
18 . SMELL [singular] the smell of a wine or tobacco SYN bouquet
⇨ ↑ hard-nosed , ↑ brown-nose , ⇨ cut off your nose to spite your face at CUT OFF (10), ⇨ ↑ nose job , ⇨ lead somebody by the nose at ↑ lead 1 (16), ⇨ look down your nose at somebody/something at ↑ look 1 (8), ⇨ pay through the nose at ↑ pay 1 (16), ⇨ as plain as the nose on your face at ↑ plain 1 (1), ⇨ poke your nose into something at ↑ poke 1 (7), ⇨ powder your nose at ↑ powder 2 (2), ⇨ rub sb’s nose in it/in the dirt at ↑ rub 1 (9), ⇨ thumb your nose at somebody/something at ↑ thumb 2 (2)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ big
See that guy over there, the one with the big nose?
▪ small
She had high cheekbones and a small nose.
▪ long
His nose was long and his chin square.
▪ straight
Her nose was long, straight and elegant.
▪ runny (=with liquid coming out)
A runny nose may be the result of an allergic reaction.
▪ snotty (=with unpleasant thick liquid coming out)
a group of dirty children with snotty noses
▪ blocked (=so that you cannot breathe easily)
My nose is really blocked and I can't smell anything.
▪ red (=because you are cold or drunk, or have a cold)
His nose was red from the cold.
▪ a snub/turned-up nose (=one that curves up at the end)
She had big eyes and a turned-up nose.
▪ a hooked nose (=one that curves down at the end)
an old man with a hooked nose
▪ a Roman/aquiline nose formal (=one that curves out near the top)
He had a thin face with an aquiline nose.
▪ a broken nose (=one that is not straight because the bone has been broken by a hit or fall)
a boxer with a broken nose
■ verbs
▪ blow your nose (=clear your nose by blowing strongly into a piece of soft paper or cloth)
She blew her nose on a large white handkerchief.
▪ wipe your nose (=wipe liquid away from your nose)
The boy wiped his nose on his sleeve.
▪ pick your nose (=remove substances from inside your nose with your finger)
Stop picking your nose, Freddy.
▪ wrinkle your nose (=move the muscles near your nose when you do not like something)
Susan looked at the meal and wrinkled her nose.
▪ hold your nose (=so that you cannot smell a bad smell)
The smell was so revolting that I had to hold my nose.
▪ breathe through your nose
Close your eyes and breathe through your nose.
▪ somebody's nose is running (=liquid is coming out)
She was crying hard and her nose was running.
■ phrases
▪ the bridge of your nose (=the upper part, between your eyes)
Sam pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
II. nose 2 BrE AmE verb
[intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition] if a vehicle, boat etc noses forward, or if you nose it forward, it moves forward slowly SYN edge
nose its way along/through etc something
The bus nosed its way along the street.
She carefully nosed the car forward through the traffic.
nose around (something) ( also nose about (something) British English ) phrasal verb informal
to look around a place in order to try to find something, when there is no one else there:
What were you doing nosing around in my office?
nose into something phrasal verb informal
to try to find out private information about someone or something, especially in a way that is annoying
nose something ↔ out phrasal verb informal
1 . to discover some information that someone else does not want you to discover:
The media always manage to nose out some interesting facts about a politician’s past life.
2 . to defeat someone by a very small amount in a race, competition etc