nuzzle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to burrow or root with the nose, snout, etc., as an animal does.
a rabbit nuzzling into the snow.
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to thrust the nose, muzzle, etc..
The dog nuzzled up to his master.
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to lie very close to someone or something; cuddle or snuggle up.
verb (used with object)
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to root up with the nose, snout, etc..
training pigs to nuzzle truffles from the ground.
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to touch or rub with the nose, snout, muzzle, etc.
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to thrust the nose, muzzle, snout, etc., against or into.
The horse was nuzzling my pocket for sugar.
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to thrust (the nose or head), as into something.
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to lie very close to; cuddle or snuggle up to.
noun
verb
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to push or rub gently against the nose or snout
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(intr) to nestle; lie close
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(tr) to dig out with the snout
Other Word Forms
- unnuzzled adjective
Etymology
Origin of nuzzle
1375–1425; late Middle English noselen to grovel; origin uncertain
Explanation
To nuzzle is to affectionately rub your nose and face against someone (or something). It's hard to get out of bed in the morning when your cat lies down on your chest and nuzzles you. A mother might nuzzle her new baby's head, and a horse will nuzzle a person's hand — hoping for an apple or sugar cube. In the fifteenth century, this word instead meant "to bring the nose to the ground," from the verb nose, "pry or smell with the nose." The current meaning was influenced by words like nestle and the now-obsolete "nursle," meaning "to nurse."
Vocabulary lists containing nuzzle
Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Home of the Brave
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The Sound and the Fury
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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.
He followed this pair across rocky hillside for a couple of hours and took his shot when the male paused to nuzzle the female.
From BBC • Aug. 26, 2025
Picture the soft, cool nuzzle of your dog.
From Seattle Times • May 4, 2024
Then they stick their beaks below the surface and “chatter” their mouths open and closed, darting their tongues in and out to create suction as they nuzzle the pond’s bottom.
From Science Magazine • Jan. 9, 2023
One of the family’s horses, Jellybean, approaches to nuzzle my neck when I move in to take a selfie.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2022
We let Alphie crawl around in fields to look at cows and sheep and we laugh when the cows nuzzle him.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
