snout

American  

[snout] / snaʊt /

noun

• snouts
  plural

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.

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snout British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• snouts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of snout

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

Explanation

An animal's long, protruding nose is often called a snout. The tricky part, though, is that not all long animal noses are called snouts. An elephant has a very long nose, but we don't call it a snout, we call it a trunk. A horse's nose is rarely referred to as a snout, because it's really their whole face that's long. Birds have beaks. Most dogs have a snout, except for pugs and boxers and other dogs with smashed-in faces. Bears have snouts, as do rats. Do yourself a favor, though, and never tell a person that they have a snout, no matter how large their nose is. Believe it or not, snout may actually be a cousin of the word snot: that should help you remember it!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snout snouts

"Males are the only pigs whose upper tusks erupt through the snout bone and curve back towards their face."

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

According to Yale paleontologists, Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa had a short snout, a heavily reinforced skull, and enlarged jaw muscles suited for snapping shut on large prey.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

It was slender, about 2 metres long, and it had a thin long snout specifically adapted for eating fish.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

A sun bear shelters from the rain in Thailand's Kaeng Krachan National Park as a butterfly briefly rests on its snout.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

When the horse felt the pressure let up on his snout and heard Anya’s encouragement to go, he sprang forward, hooves ripping up the grass and throwing clods of dirt behind him.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

But that shows how keen they are to get their snouts in the trough of Musk’s future equity sales.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

Giant anteaters have black and white diagonal stripes, dense shaggy hair and super-sized snouts.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026

Their long, narrow snouts and rows of thin, pointed teeth allowed them to catch agile prey such as fish and turtles.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025

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.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

The black tips of their shoes poked out from under their cuffs like the snouts of wily animals.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Related Words

• beak
• nose
• trunk