nose

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Nosed p. pr. & vb. n. Nosing. ] 1. To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To touch with the nose; to push the nose into or against; hence, to interfere with; to treat insolently. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lambs . . . nosing the mother's udder. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

A sort of national convention, dubious in its nature . . . nosed Parliament in the very seat of its authority. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To utter in a nasal manner; to pronounce with a nasal twang; as, to nose a prayer. [ R. ] Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To confront; be closely face to face or opposite to; meet. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

5. To furnish with a nose; as, to nose a stair tread. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

6. To examine with the nose or sense of smell. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

7. To make by advancing the nose or front end; as, the train nosed its way into the station; [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

8. (Racing Slang) to beat by (the length of) a nose. Hence, to defeat in a contest by a small margin; also used in the form nose out. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ AS. nosu; akin to D. neus, G. nase, OHG. nasa, Icel. nös, Sw. näsa, Dan. näse, Lith. nosis, Russ. nos', L. nasus, nares, Skr. nāsā, nās. √261. Cf. Nasal, Nasturtium, Naze, Nostril, Nozzle. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Anat.) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The power of smelling; hence, scent. [ 1913 Webster ]

We are not offended with a dog for a better nose than his master. Collier. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A projecting end or beak at the front of an object; a snout; a nozzle; a spout; as, the nose of a bellows; the nose of a teakettle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nose bit (Carp.), a bit similar to a gouge bit, but having a cutting edge on one side of its boring end. --
Nose hammer (Mach.), a frontal hammer. --
Nose hole (Glass Making), a small opening in a furnace, before which a globe of crown glass is held and kept soft at the beginning of the flattening process. --
Nose key (Carp.), a fox wedge. --
Nose leaf (Zool.), a thin, broad, membranous fold of skin on the nose of many species of bats. It varies greatly in size and form. --
Nose of wax, (fig.), a person who is pliant and easily influenced. “A nose of wax to be turned every way.” Massinger --
Nose piece, the nozzle of a pipe, hose, bellows, etc.; the end piece of a microscope body, to which an objective is attached. --
To hold one's nose to the grindstone,
To put one's nose to the grindstone, or
To bring one's nose to the grindstone. See under Grindstone. --
To lead by the nose, to lead at pleasure, or to cause to follow submissively; to lead blindly, as a person leads a beast. Shak. --
To put one's nose out of joint, to humiliate one's pride, esp. by supplanting one in the affections of another. [ Slang ] --
To thrust one's nose into, to meddle officiously in. --
To wipe one's nose of, to deprive of; to rob. [ Slang ] --
on the nose, (a) exactly, accurately. (b) (racing) to win, as opposed to to place or to show. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

v. i. To push or move with the nose or front forward. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

A train of cable cars came nosing along. Hamlin Garland. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. i. to look around or search, especially where one has no authority to do so; to pry; to be nosy. Same as nose{ 2 }, v. i. [ PJC ]

n. A bag in which feed for a horse, ox, or the like, may be fastened under the nose by a string passing over the head. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. That part of the headstall of a bridle which passes over a horse's nose. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A bleeding at the nose. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) The yarrow. See Yarrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A count of the number of persons present or who are to be included in a group; as, get a nosecount of those who are planning to go; also, a periodic count of the population.
Syn. -- census. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]