snout

[snout]

noun

1. the part of an animal's head projecting forward and containing the nose and jaws; muzzle.

2. Entomology.,  an anterior prolongation of the head bearing the mouth parts, as in snout beetles.

3. anything that resembles or suggests an animal's snout in shape, function, etc.

4. a nozzle or spout.

5. a person's nose, especially when large or prominent.

snout

/ snaʊt /

noun

1. the part of the head of a vertebrate, esp a mammal, consisting of the nose, jaws, and surrounding region, esp when elongated

2. the corresponding part of the head of such insects as weevils

3. anything projecting like a snout, such as a nozzle or the lower end of a glacier

4. slang,  a person's nose

5. Also called: snout moth. a brownish noctuid moth, Hypena proboscidalis, that frequents nettles: named from the palps that project prominently from the head at rest

6. slang,  a cigarette or tobacco

7. slang,  an informer

Other Word Forms

• snouted adjective
• snoutless adjective
• snoutlike adjective
• unsnouted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of snout¹

1175–1225; Middle English snute; cognate with Dutch snuite, German Schnauze

Word History and Origins

Origin of snout¹

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse snyta, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch snūte

Example Sentences

The malleability of the dog genome allows for enormous physical variety, she explained, meaning that breeders can push features to extremes—squashing snouts, piling on wrinkles.

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I feel her cool, damp snout dab at my cheek.

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She kissed the wolf on her great, wet snout, but Mama Woof ignored the embrace.

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While there were still slender, wolf-like dogs, there were also many with shorter snouts and wider, stockier heads.

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Into the light came a rounded snout, a wide mouth full of jagged teeth, a long body with a powerful tail.

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Related Words

• beak 
• nose 
• trunk