nose around

present singular third person noses around · participle present nosing around · participle past nosed around · past nosed around

1. idiomaticinformalTo snoop around; to discreetly or covertly search or examine a place or situation.

   The state had no business nosing around in people's sexual lives.

   2004 June 10, Leslie Feinberg, “The love that dared to speak its name”, in Workers World

2. idiomaticinformalTo browse; to look at, especially to satisfy one's curiosity.

   If you just want to nose around, guided tours are given on Saturday mornings at 10.30 […]

   2023, Emma Thomson, John Ruler, World War I Battlefields: A Travel Guide to the Western Front, →ISBN, page 80

   2 more examples

   As you may now realise, it has become my habit to get a feel of a racecourse by nosing around the local churches.

   2004, Stephen Cartmell, Racing Around Britain, →ISBN, page 140

   Consider the West Village before you say no. You know you like nosing around the little bookshops and cafés there.

   2009, Hanif Kureishi, Something to Tell You, →ISBN, page 313

3. informalOf an animal, to explore using the nose.

   We lay quietly while the bear nosed around outside only two feet away from our heads, then wandered away.

   1989 May, Jeff MacInnis, “Braving the Northwest Passage”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 599

   3 more examples

   The tiger nosed around in the weeds for a while, but soon returned to its original hiding place, presumably to mull over what it had learned.

   1993, Barry Reynolds, John Berryman, Pike on the Fly: The Flyfishing Guide to Northerns, Tigers, and Muskies, →ISBN, page 19

   Storm sprang onto the bed and nosed around her with his whiskers. We've got to do this, she thought as she fingered the kitten's striped fur.

   2013, Deborah Bedford, Blessing, →ISBN, page 142

   Jake came up to the stall and stroked his neck while Jasper nosed around Jake's coat pocket. "What're you after, boy?" Jake cooed.

   2023, J. D. Arnold, Rawhide Jake: Learning the Ropes, →ISBN