hook-nosed

IPA/ˌhʊkˈnəʊzd/
IPA/ˌhʊkˈnoʊzd/

hook-nosed — adjective

1. with a nose that sticks out and bends down, shaped a little like an eagle's beak

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

with a nose that sticks out and bends down, shaped a little like an eagle's beak

Example

Eleni's hook-nosed profile was so striking that a street artist in Heraklion asked permission to sketch her.

describing facial features: hook-nosed profile

The hook-nosed figure in the sixth-century Ravenna mosaic turned out to be a general who had served three emperors.

Common collocations
  • hook-nosed man
  • hook-nosed woman
  • hook-nosed profile
  • hook-nosed face
Synonyms
  • aquiline

    formal term, from Latin word for eagle

  • Roman-nosed

    describes a nose with a high, prominent bridge

  • beak-nosed

    informal and more directly comparing to a bird's beak

Antonyms
  • snub-nosed

    describes a short nose that turns up at the tip

Common Mistakes

He is a hook-nose man.
He is a hook-nosed man.
the adjective form uses '-nosed', not '-nose'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These three words all describe a nose with a prominent curve, but they differ in tone and context. 'Aquiline' is the most formal — it comes from the Latin word for eagle and often appears in literary descriptions or historical writing. 'Roman-nosed' focuses on the high bridge rather than the downward hook — you might say someone has a Roman nose if their profile looks like a classical statue, with a straight but prominent bridge that may curve slightly at the tip. 'Beak-nosed' is the most informal and vivid: it directly compares the nose to a bird's beak and can sound unkind or cartoonish. Compare: 'The portrait showed a man with an aquiline nose' (neutral, descriptive) versus 'The cartoon villain was drawn as a beak-nosed old man' (exaggerated, unflattering).

aquiline ↗Roman-nosedbeak-nosed

Common collocations

Nouns

  • hook-nosed man
  • hook-nosed woman
  • hook-nosed face
  • hook-nosed profile
  • hook-nosed stranger

Adverbs

  • slightly hook-nosed
  • distinctly hook-nosed

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed by joining 'hook' and 'nosed.' The word 'hook' comes from Old English 'hoc,' meaning a bent piece of metal or a curved tool. When combined with '-nosed,' it paints a picture of a nose that curves like a hook — specifically one that bends outward and downward. The term has been used in English since at least the 1600s to describe a distinctive facial feature.