northwardly, toward the north. northerly, adj. north, northern, northward or northwards, toward the north, northernmost; boreal, arctic, septentrional. North Star, n. Astronomy. Polaris, polestar, lodestar, brightest star in Ursa Minor or the Little Dipper, Astron. Obs. Cynosure; luminary, shining light, guiding light, guide cynosure, point of reference. nose, n. 1. neb, nib, bill, pecker, All Sl. beak, snoot, schnozz, schnozzle, schnozzola; snout, muzzle, Sl. nozzle, Facetious, proboscis, trunk, Entomol. antlia; nostrils, nasal passage or cavity, breather, air hole, spiracle, blow hole; sniffer, olfactory organ, olfactories, Sl. smeller; sense of smell, olfactory sense.
2. percipience, perception, keen sense, insight, eye; instinct, sixth sense, feel, gift or aptitude for discovering or detecting.
3. prow, Naut., Aeron. bow, stem, ram, rostrum; forward end, fore, front, point, tip, extremity; projection, protrusion, promontory, Geol. bill.
4. bouquet, aroma, essence, fragrance, perfume; smell, scent, odor, odoriferousness, redolence, savor.
5. by a nose Slang, by a narrow or slim margin, narrowly, by a hair's breadth, by the skin of one's teeth, by a whisker; barely, just, only.
6. on the nose Slang, a. precisely, exactly, perfectly, just right, just so, to a hair, to the letter, to a T or tee. b. on the dot, on the button, on the money, on target, Inf. on the mark; promptly, on time.
-v. 7. smell, sniff, get or catch a whiff of, perceive, detect; smell out or around, sniff out or around, follow a scent, search for, seek out.
8. (all with the nose) push, shove, move forward or along; nuzzle, rub, snuggle, touch.
9. Often nose out beat or defeat by a narrow margin, just beat, win by a nose or a hair's breadth or the skin of one's teeth; edge out, squeak by.
10. Often nose into or about pry, snoop, prowl, peek, peep, peer, look, stare, gape, gaze; inquire, ask, break in, interrupt, horn in, butt in, Inf. kibitz; meddle, interfere, intervene, intrude. nose dive, n. plunge, dive, swoop; lurch, pitch, spill, tumble, stumble, trip; sudden drop or decline; dropoff, downward turn, turn for the worse, tailspin, downfall. nose-dive, v. plunge, dive, swoop, jackknife, jump headlong or headfirst; pitch, lurch, fall headfirst, take a spill or a fall, tumble, stumble; drop, decline, descend, fall, go down; fall off, worsen, get worse, look bad, go into a tailspin. nosegay, n. bouquet, bunch of flowers, flowers, blossoms, blooms, spray, flower arrangement, Brit. Dial, boughpot; corsage, boutonniere, Chiefly Brit. buttonhole, flower; garland, wreath, festoon, chaplet. nosh, v. 1. snack, eat between meals, pop [s.t.] into one's mouth, sneak [s.t.] to eat, eat on the sly; nibble, gnaw, take small bites, pick, pick at or over one's food, peck at one's food, eat like a bird.
-n. 2. snack, between-meal snack, bite to eat, Sl. munchy; tidbit, morsel, bite, taste, mouthful. nostalgia, n. (all in reference to the past) longing, yearning, pining, languishing, aching; moping, brooding, musing, remembering, reminiscing; remembrance, memory, recollection, reminiscence; regret, regretfulness, remorse, sorrow, sadness; lamentation, lamenting, grieving, mourning, bemoaning, bewailing; homesickness, loneliness, lonesomeness. nostalgic, adj. (all in reference to the past) longing, yearning, pining, languishing; regretful, remorseful, sorrowful, sad; homesick, lonely, lonesome; maudlin, sentimental, emotional, romantic, soupy;