# nostril

Pronunciation: US say "NAH-struhl" /ˈnɑ.stɹəl/; UK say "NOS-tril" /ˈnɒs.tɹɪl/; AUS say "NOS-truhl" /ˈnɔs.tɹəl/

## Noun

1. Either of the two openings in the nose, or in a bird's beak, through which air passes into the nasal passages.
   - Simple: One of the two openings in your nose that you breathe through.
   - _The doctor shone a light into each nostril to check for swelling._
   - _Horses flare their nostrils wide when they gallop at full speed._

## Origin

From Middle English nostrille, from Old English nosþyrel. By surface analysis it is nose + thirl ('hole'), and it is related to Old Frisian nosterle and modern West Frisian noaster.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/nostril (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).