nose out

verb

nosed out; nosing out; noses out

transitive verb

1
: to discover often by prying
2
: to defeat or surpass by a narrow margin

Examples of nose out in a Sentence

independent investigators eventually nosed out proof of White House wrongdoing
Recent Examples on the Web Both take on the potent danger of human inquiry, with people with a professional interest in nosing out secrets (documentarians played by Samuel Blenkin and Myha’la Herrold, a shutterbug played by Zazie Beetz). Daniel D'addario, Variety, 15 June 2023 Back at Churchill Downs in early October, Rich Strike got nosed out by Hot Rod Charlie right at the wire in the Lukas Classic Stakes. Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 30 Apr. 2023 So five years ago, Ms. Tomaszewska made a fake nose out of modeling clay, donned fake, gold teeth, and covered her face with garish makeup. Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Oct. 2021 If the team buys into the vision, then no one has their nose out of joint. James Mayo, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2021 Stop in and nose out your favorite scents. Megan Wood, Travel + Leisure, 3 Aug. 2021 And dogs need fewer molecules to nose out Covid than are required for P.C.R. testing, Thai researchers said. New York Times, 31 May 2021 But Prat had to rally Hong Kong Harry in the stretch Saturday to nose out Beyond Brilliant and Masteroffoxhounds to win the Seabiscuit Handicap in a three-way photo finish. Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Nov. 2022 No other humans in sight — just mountains and pine trees and the occasional seal poking its nose out of the water. A.j. Jacobs, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nose out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nose out was in 1795

Dictionary Entries Near nose out

Cite this Entry

“Nose out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nose%20out. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

nose out

verb
: to defeat by a narrow margin
the home team barely nosed out the visitors
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