nozzle
Americannoun
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a projecting spout, terminal discharging pipe, or the like, as of a hose or bellows.
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Slang. the nose.
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the spout of a teapot.
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the socket of a candlestick.
noun
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a projecting pipe or spout from which fluid is discharged
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Also called: propelling nozzle. a pipe or duct, esp in a jet engine or rocket, that directs the effluent and accelerates or diffuses the flow to generate thrust
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a socket, such as the part of a candlestick that holds the candle
Etymology
Origin of nozzle
Explanation
A nozzle is the spout at the end of a hose that water flows through. Any kind of fluid — oil, gasoline — can move through a tube and squirt out of a nozzle, but we usually think of water in a hose, with the nozzle controlling the spray. The root of nozzle is nose, which — if you use a little imagination — describes the shape of most nozzles.
Vocabulary lists containing nozzle
100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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When You Reach Me
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the pumps, the mood was tense as customers watched the fuel counter tick up, sometimes pulling out the nozzle before the satisfying “ca-chunk” that indicates a full tank.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
It took me three hours to force the hose onto the pump nozzle, but I couldn’t cinch it up securely.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2025
The inquiry saw images of the unusual perfume container, which was made up of a glass bottle, a silver screw cap and a white nozzle, similar to what would be found in a throat spray.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2024
Social media platforms have had a mercurial relationship with publishers, too, funneling readers to news sites before turning down the nozzle to a slow drip.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2024
Water now reached the kitchen through a hose with a nozzle that opened and closed with a simple twist.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
