Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

nozzle

American  
[noz-uhl] / ˈnɒz əl /

noun

nozzles plural
  1. a projecting spout, terminal discharging pipe, or the like, as of a hose or bellows.

  2. Slang. the nose.

  3. the spout of a teapot.

  4. the socket of a candlestick.


nozzle British  
/ ˈnɒzəl /

noun

  1. a projecting pipe or spout from which fluid is discharged

  2. 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

  3. a socket, such as the part of a candlestick that holds the candle

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of nozzle

1600–10; earlier nosle; see nose, -le

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing nozzle

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.

See Examples For:

And, finally, to create a further barrier for germs, he suggests directing the air nozzle between you and the person next to you.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 5, 2025

HITS-Bio uses a digitally controlled nozzle array, an arrangement of multiple nozzles that moves in three dimensions and allows researchers to manipulate several spheroids at the same time.

From Science Daily Dec. 3, 2024

Like water spraying through a narrow nozzle, the winds are accelerated as they enter the canyons, often reaching gale-force strength by the time they exit into Los Angeles and San Bernardino.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 27, 2024

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

But how much smaller, and how the nozzle worked, and how to build one, we had no idea.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

The technology’s hoses and nozzles can pump out ozone in microscopic nanobubbles that don’t float and can spread more widely through water than the gas’s traditional form.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 28, 2026

One is replacing the fuel nozzles to utilize natural gas instead of jet fuel.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 17, 2026

He adds that he saves on pesticide spray since the nozzles only turn on when weeds are detected, as opposed to the kind of blanket spraying he used to do.

From BBC Jan. 19, 2026

Around it is another ring containing tiny nozzles.

From Science Daily Nov. 20, 2025

Inside it were my nozzles and nose cones.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training