hold one's nose up

verb

To be disdainful or dismissive towards something.

Similar
turn one's nose up
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Meanings

verbhold one's nose up (third-person singular simple present holds one's nose up, present participle holding one's nose up, simple past and past participle held one's nose up)

present singular third person holds one's nose up · participle present holding one's nose up · participle past held one's nose up · past held one's nose up

  1. To be disdainful or dismissive towards something.

    The era of the "church-basement liberal" is over. Those who sit around meeting in the church basements of Cambridge, holding their noses up at the prospect of supporting candidates who don't agree with every last one of their issues, had exactly zero influence in this year's critical elections.

    1990 December 9, Richard Braun, “A Whole New Day For The Party: Giving Us A Voice”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 21, page 5

    Synonyms: turn one's nose up

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo be disdainful or dismissive towards something.

Similar
turn one's nose up
Also see
turn up one's nose
Cite this entry
APA

hold one's nose up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20nose%20up

MLA

“hold one's nose up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20nose%20up. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hold one's nose up,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hold%20one's%20nose%20up.

Source: hold one's nose up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.