Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lead by the nose

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.43 in modern English

Syllables
lead- by the nose
IPA
22
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
2
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To cause to follow blindly.

verb

To lead by example and painstaking explanation, as one might do for remedial teaching.

Example Sentences

Etymology

The figurative senses are metaphorical extensions from the literal sense of leading a livestock animal by grabbing its nose or nose ring (with the latter hooked to a lead) or by pushing its nose into feed or water to encourage it to eat or drink.

Inflected Forms

leads by the nose (present, singular) leading by the nose (participle, present) led by the nose (participle, past) led by the nose (past)

Phrases

lead someone down the garden path red herring

Frequently Paired Words

lead someone down the garden path red herring spoon-feed

Synonyms

lead around by the nose bamboozle snow hoodwink pull the wool over someone's eyes play false

Questions

What does lead by the nose mean?
To cause to follow blindly.
Where does lead by the nose come from?
The figurative senses are metaphorical extensions from the literal sense of leading a livestock animal by grabbing its nose or nose ring (with the latter hooked to a lead) or by pushing its nose into feed or water to encourage it to eat or drink.

How to pronounce lead by the nose

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lead by the nose”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “lead by the nose”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “lead by the nose” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.