nostrils
NAH-struhlz/ˈnɑ.stɹəlz/UKNOS-trilz/ˈnɒs.tɹɪlz/AUSNOS-truhlz/ˈnɔs.tɹəlz/
- 1Plural of nostril.
Smoke from the kitchen filled his nostrils before he reached the door.
Divers learn to equalize pressure by pinching their nostrils and exhaling gently.
Note
Because the openings come in pairs, on a nose or on a bird's beak, the plural is the form most sentences reach for: smoke fills your nostrils, a horse flares its nostrils. It is a regular plural that simply adds -s. Its learned synonym nares belongs to more technical writing. In ordinary prose, nostrils is the natural choice.
nostrils is a form of nostril
nostril, noun: Either of the two openings in the nose, or in a bird's beak, through which air passes into the nasal passages. Full entry
- Forms
- nostrilnostrils plural
- Spelling
- nostril → nostrils: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with nostrils, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.