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nuzzle

[nuhz-uh l]
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verb (used without object), nuz·zled, nuz·zling.
  1. to burrow or root with the nose, snout, etc., as an animal does: a rabbit nuzzling into the snow.
  2. to thrust the nose, muzzle, etc.: The dog nuzzled up to his master.
  3. to lie very close to someone or something; cuddle or snuggle up.
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verb (used with object), nuz·zled, nuz·zling.
  1. to root up with the nose, snout, etc.: training pigs to nuzzle truffles from the ground.
  2. to touch or rub with the nose, snout, muzzle, etc.
  3. to thrust the nose, muzzle, snout, etc., against or into: The horse was nuzzling my pocket for sugar.
  4. to thrust (the nose or head), as into something.
  5. to lie very close to; cuddle or snuggle up to.
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noun
  1. an affectionate embrace or cuddle.
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Origin of nuzzle

1375–1425; late Middle English noselen to grovel; origin uncertain
Related formsun·nuz·zled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nuzzle

Historical Examples

  • It would be so nice just to lean back and nuzzle up to her, down in the sand.

    The Hunted Heroes

    Robert Silverberg

  • They would push and nuzzle a man along a road, and never upset him.

    Jan

    A. J. Dawson

  • They stirred, making tiny whimpering sounds and trying to move their heads to nuzzle at her fingers.

    Space Prison

    Tom Godwin

  • And when he slept at night something came to nuzzle at his mind; faceless, formless, utterly alien.

  • All of a sudden Don began to tremble with eagerness and nuzzle and sniff among the roots of the grass.

    IT and Other Stories

    Gouverneur Morris

British Dictionary definitions for nuzzle

nuzzle

verb
  1. to push or rub gently against the nose or snout
  2. (intr) to nestle; lie close
  3. (tr) to dig out with the snout
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Word Origin

C15: nosele, from nose (n)
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

Word Origin and History for nuzzle

v.

early 15c., "to bring the nose to the ground," back-formation from noselyng "on the nose, prostrate," frequentative of nose (v.); meaning "burrow with the nose" is first attested 1520s; that of "lie snug" is from 1590s, influenced by nestle, or by nursle, frequentative of nurse. Related: Nuzzled; nuzzling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper