nosing

Pluralnosings

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle of nose.

   The cat was nosing at the closed box, curious about its contents.

   He spent the afternoon nosing through old boxes in the attic.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every meaning of the verb nose, and they range widely: a boat nosing forward with care, a neighbor nosing into other people's affairs, a dog nosing a hand, a runner nosing out a rival at the line. That last meaning often takes out. As a gerund it can look like the animal's nosing, but the verb form still takes an object or a particle.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   The rounded front edge of a stair tread that projects out beyond the vertical riser below it.

   Like the overhanging edge of a kitchen countertop that extends slightly past the cabinet below it.

   The builder added an oak nosing to each tread for a finished look.

   Replacing the cracked nosing kept the old staircase safe to use.

   Note

   A builder's word for the lip your toe finds on each step, where the tread overhangs the riser. It is usually rounded or molded, which improves footing and spares the edge from wear, and it is often fitted as a separate strip that can be replaced. From the stair the word stretches to other projecting edges, such as moldings.

3. 3
   nouncountable or uncountable

   An animal's act of pushing at or investigating something with its nose.

   A curious nosing at the fence told us the goat had found the gap.

   The cat's persistent nosing finally pushed the cupboard door ajar.

   Similarnudging, nuzzling, sniffing

   Note

   A countable noun, so it pluralizes naturally for habits rather than single acts. Dave Hughes, in An Angler's Astoria (1982), sets a happy dog's "nosings and affections and fireside dreamings" side by side. When a person pokes into someone else's business, English usually reaches for the verb instead, as in nosing into something, rather than this noun.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   Any comparable projecting edge, such as the protruding lip of a molding.

   The cabinet's molding ended in a neat nosing along the top edge.

   A decorative nosing ran around the rim of the table.

   Similarlip, edge

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