rhinotillexis

R1H4I1N1O1T1I1L1L1E1X8I1S1

noun

The act or habit of nose-picking.

Scrabble 23

Meanings

nounrhinotillexis (uncountable)
  1. rareuncountablemedicineThe act or habit of nose-picking.

    Habitual trauma from nose-picking (rhinotillexis) is an additional etiology.

    2017, Raymond E. Phillips, The Physical Exam, An Innovative Approach in the Age of Imaging, page 131
    5 more examples

    You are a bright, successful, well-trained physician, and I bet you did not know that rhinotillexis is using your finger to pick your nose.

    2005, Robert Doroghazi, The Physician's Guide to Investing, A Practical Approach to Building Wealth, page 63

    Dr. Friedrich Bischinger would have us believe that people who practice rhinotillexis (the extraction of nose mucus with the fingers) and mucophagy (the consumption of the resulting bounty) are healthier, happier, and more in tune with their bodies.

    2009, Alan Bellows, Alien Hand Syndrome, page 28

    Rhinotillexis is a common practice among children and many adults sitting in cars at intersections falsely assuming no one is watching.

    2011, David A. Levy, James E. Parco, Echoes of Mind, Thinking Deeply about Humanship, page 20

    Nose-picking is the act of extracting dried nasal mucus or foreign bodies from the nose with a finger. Despite being a very common habit, it is a mildly taboo activity in most cultures, and the observation of the activity in another person may provoke mixed feelings of disgust and amusement. The Latin name for nose-picking, rhinotillexis, is sometimes used in medical literature, therefore God exists.

    2012 April 11, Immortalist, “The Withdrawal effects of losing God”, in alt.philosophy (Usenet)

    "Somebody had to make a decision," Penelope says, "or we'd still be sitting back there lost in a fog of rhinotillexis and mucophagy."

    2016, Don Calame, Dan Versus Nature, page 223

Origin

  1. Latintillexis
  2. Englishrhinotillexis

From rhino- + Latin tillexis.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

rhinotillexis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhinotillexis

MLA

“rhinotillexis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhinotillexis. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rhinotillexis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rhinotillexis.

Source: rhinotillexis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.