look down one's nose

verb

To regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt.

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Meanings

verblook down one's nose (third-person singular simple present looks down one's nose, present participle looking down one's nose, simple past and past participle looked down one's nose)

present singular third person looks down one's nose · participle present looking down one's nose · participle past looked down one's nose · past looked down one's nose

  1. idiomaticusuallyTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt.

    You look too high and mighty; customers would think you were looking down your nose at them.

    1940, Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton, The House of Lee, Kessinger, published 2005, →ISBN, page 98
    2 more examples

    The New York Daily News's Columnist John O'Donnell, a Taftman, looked down his nose at Eisenhower's campaign.

    1952 March 24, “The Press: Fried Crow, à la Mode”, in Time

    [S]he has such a superior look about her, you know, like some snooty society matron, looking down her nose at the rest of us.

    2003, Joy Fielding, Whispers and Lies, →ISBN, page 7

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
look down on

Translations

German herabschauen, herabsehen
  • herabschauenTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
  • herabsehenTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
  • von oben herab behandelnTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
Italian guardare dall'alto in basso
  • guardare dall'alto in bassoTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
Māori tirohura
  • tirohuraTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
Russian смотре́ть с высока́
  • смотре́ть с высока́ (smotrétʹ s vysoká)To regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
Spanish mirar por encima del hombro
  • mirar por encima del hombroTo regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: look down one's nose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.