nostril

Everyday

One of the two openings at the end of your nose that air goes in and out through. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons about the body and senses: we breathe and smell through our nostrils; tiny hairs and mucus inside trap dust and germs. In animals: whales breathe through a blowhole, which is their nostril; horses flare their nostrils. Safety: never push small objects into your nostrils.

Examples

• Air goes in through your nostrils. tree →
• Hairs in your nostrils catch dust. tree →
• The horse flared its nostrils. tree →
• Never put beads up your nostril. tree →
• A whale's blowhole is its nostril. tree →
• Breathe in slowly through your nostrils. tree →
• My left nostril is blocked because of my cold. tree →
• And now her nostrils are twitching. tree →

Note

Countable: a nostril, nostrils (we each have two). Spelling: «nostril» ends in «-il», not «-al». Breathing through the nose warms and cleans the air better than breathing through the mouth.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: God breathed the breath of life into the first man's nostrils, which tradition reads as giving him a soul. In the primary lessons: In science lessons about the body and senses: we breathe and smell through our nostrils; tiny hairs and mucus inside trap dust and germs. In animals: whales breathe through a blowhole, which is their nostril; horses flare their nostrils. Safety: never push small objects into your nostrils.

Examples

• all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was in the dry land, died. (Torah GEN.7.22, JPS 1917) tree →
• Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Torah GEN.2.7, JPS 1917) tree →
• And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up — the floods stood upright as a heap; the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. (Torah EXO.15.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot and burning rushes. (Writings JOB.41.12, JPS 1917) tree →
• All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, (Writings JOB.27.3, JPS 1917) tree →
• Cease ye from man, in whose nostrils is a breath; for how little is he to be accounted! (Prophets ISA.2.22, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Countable: a nostril, nostrils (we each have two). Spelling: «nostril» ends in «-il», not «-al». Breathing through the nose warms and cleans the air better than breathing through the mouth.