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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Peter was in the booth with Herbstreit the other weekend, paws up and nose out. Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025 In order to keep Superman's nose out of his business, he's impregnated the whole thing with kryptonite. Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 July 2025 Shelving the movie put noses out of joint at the time with talks of a potential tax write-down. Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 8 May 2025 Yamamoto actually only nosed out James Paxton by 2/3 of an inning for that third spot. Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for nose out

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Nose out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nose%20out. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

nose out

verb
: to defeat by a narrow margin
the home team barely nosed out the visitors
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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