nose around
To snoop around; to discreetly or covertly search or examine a place or situationTo snoop around; to discreetly or covertly search or examine a place or situation.
» I just wanna nose around a bit.
Ich will nur ein bisschen herumschnüffeln. — Zaghawa
Tatoeba contributors · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(idiomatic, informal)To snoop around; to discreetly or covertly search or examine a place or situation.
(idiomatic, informal)To browse; to look at, especially to satisfy one's curiosity.
(informal)Of an animal, to explore using the nose.
Examples
3 sentencesI just wanna nose around a bit.
deIch will nur ein bisschen herumschnüffeln. — Zaghawa
I've been nosing around the office trying to find out the news.
While Mary was in the bathroom, Tom took the chance to nose around in her computer.
deTom nutzte, als Maria im Bad war, die Gelegenheit, um ihren Rechner zu durchstöbern. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Forms
noses around, nosing around, nosed around, nosed around| Base form | nose around · to nose around |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | noses around |
| Present participle | nosing around |
| Past simple | nosed around |
| Past participle | nosed around |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
4 phrasal verbs- nose outTo find using one's sense of smell.
- nose overTo crash by landing such that the nose of the plane hits the ground first, causing the plane to topple forward.
- nose aroundTo snoop around; to discreetly or covertly search or examine a place or situation.
- nose aboutTo snoop around; to discreetly or covertly search or examine a place or situation.
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb