Find the word definition

Crossword clues for muzzle

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
muzzle
I.noun
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ The dog lifted his muzzle to pick up a scent.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Don't forget a muzzle is very helpful in those early days.
▪ I could see the muzzle flashes in the tree line fifty yards away, which blocked our take-off path.
▪ I glanced at the blasting muzzles on my left and realized that we were beginning to line up on the barrels.
▪ If the muzzle has been properly tied the ferret will be free to lick but not to bite.
▪ One carried a rifle by its stock, a. 30 -. 30, the muzzle bouncing off his toe.
▪ The silenced muzzle of a gun stabbed out of the darkness and spat twice.
▪ Two small batteries fitted the butt while the beam escaped at the muzzle.
▪ You could actually see the shockwave zip out of the muzzle.
II.verb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Attempts to muzzle the country's media have failed.
▪ Democracy activists have been effectively muzzled by these tough new laws.
▪ Frequently, employees are muzzled, threatened with dismissal or fired.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Against this background, the muzzling of 16 reformist newspapers can only be seen as an assault on popular sovereignty.
▪ He reeled away as Barnabas was dragged into the back seat and muzzled.
▪ Newspapers had been muzzled by wartime censorship.
▪ That is why the politicians want to muzzle us and control what we write and you read.
▪ The Arab avant-garde was carefully muzzled and its rowdiest members sent off, willingly or unwillingly, to London and Paris.
▪ The people might be made to kneel, but the elements were not quite so easy to muzzle.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Muzzle

Muzzle \Muz"zle\, n. [OE. mosel, OF. musel, F. museau muzzle or snout, LL. musellus, fr. musus, morsus. See Muse, v. i., and cf. Morsel.]

  1. The projecting mouth and nose of a quadruped, as of a horse; a snout.

  2. The mouth of a thing; the end for entrance or discharge; as, the muzzle of a gun.

  3. A fastening or covering (as a band or cage) for the mouth of an animal, to prevent eating or vicious biting.

    With golden muzzles all their mouths were bound
    --Dryden.

    Muzzle sight. (Gun.) See Dispart, n., 2.

Muzzle

Muzzle \Muz"zle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Muzzled; p. pr. & vb. n. Muzzling.] [F. museler.]

  1. To bind the mouth of; to fasten the mouth of, so as to prevent biting or eating; hence, figuratively, to bind; to sheathe; to restrain from speech or action; as, the dictator muzzled all the newspapers. ``My dagger muzzled.''
    --Shak.

    Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
    --Deut. xxv. 4.

  2. To fondle with the closed mouth. [Obs.]
    --L'Estrange.

Muzzle

Muzzle \Muz"zle\, v. i. To bring the mouth or muzzle near.

The bear muzzles and smells to him.
--L'Estrange.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
muzzle

late 14c., "device put over an animal's mouth to stop it from biting, eating, or rooting," from Old French musel "muzzle," also "snout, nose" (12c., Modern French museau), from muse "muzzle," from Gallo-Roman *musa "snout" (source also of Provençal mus, Old Spanish mus, Italian muso), of unknown origin, possibly related to Latin morsus "bite" (but OED finds "serious difficulties" with this). Meaning "projecting part of the head of an animal" is from early 15c. in English; sense of "open end of a firearm" first recorded 1560s.

muzzle

"to put a muzzle on," early 15c., from muzzle (n.). Figurative use from 1610s. Related: Muzzled; muzzling.\n

Wiktionary
muzzle

n. 1 The protruding part of many animal's head which includes nose, mouth and jaws; snout 2 The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet emerges from as opposed to the breech. 3 A device used to prevent animal from biting or eating, which is worn on its snout. 4 (context chiefly Scotland English) A piece of the forward end of the plow-beam by which the traces are attached; bridle 5 (context obsolete historical English) An openwork covering for the nose, used for the defense of the horse, and forming part of the bards in the 15th and 16th centuries. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To bind or confine an animal's mouth by putting a muzzle, as to prevent it from eating or biting. 2 (context transitive figuratively English) To restrain (from speaking, expressing opinion or acting); gag, silence, censor. 3 (context transitive obsolete English) To veil, mask, muffle. 4 (context transitive obsolete English) To fondle with the closed mouth; to nuzzle. 5 (context intransitive English) To bring the muzzle or mouth near.

WordNet
muzzle
  1. n. the open circular discharging end of a gun [syn: gun muzzle]

  2. forward projecting part of the head of certain animals; includes the jaws and nose

  3. a leather or wire restraint that fits over an animal's snout (especially a dog's nose and jaws) and prevents it from eating or biting

  4. restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting [syn: gag]

muzzle
  1. v. fit with a muzzle; "muzzle the dog to prevent it from biting strangers"

  2. prevent from speaking out; "The press was gagged" [syn: gag]

  3. tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them; "The burglars gagged the home owner and tied him to a chair" [syn: gag]

Wikipedia
Muzzle

A muzzle may be:

  • The snout, the projecting parts of the face (including the nose and mouth) of an animal
  • Muzzle (firearms), the mouth of a firearm
  • Muzzle (device), a device that covers an animal's snout
  • "Muzzle #1", a single by The Whip
  • Muzzle (band), a musical group based in Seattle, Washington, United States
  • Muzzle (song), a song on The Smashing Pumpkins album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
  • Muzzle, a character in Road Rovers
Muzzle (firearms)

The muzzle of a firearm is the end of the barrel from which the projectile will exit.

Precise machining of the muzzle is crucial to accuracy, because it is the last point of contact between the barrel and the projectile. If gaps exist between the muzzle and the projectile, escaping propellant gases may spread unevenly and deflect the projectile from its intended path (see transitional ballistics).

In the case of rifled weapons, the contour of a muzzle is designed to keep the rifling safe from damage, so it is commonly recessed or protected by a convex "crown".

When firing a gun, a flash is often seen at the muzzle (known as a muzzle flash) and is produced by the hot gases escaping the barrel. The size of the flash depends on various factors such as barrel length, type and amount of powder, etc. Flash suppressors are attached to the muzzle of the weapon to diminish these effects.

Muzzle (device)

A muzzle is a device that is placed over the snout of an animal to keep it from biting or otherwise opening its mouth.

Muzzles can be primarily solid, with air holes to allow the animal to breathe, or formed from a set of straps that provides better air circulation and allow the animal to drink, and in some cases, eat. Leather, wire, plastic, and nylon are common materials for muzzles. The shape and construction of the muzzle might differ depending on whether the intent is to prevent an animal from biting or from eating, for example.

Muzzle (song)

"Muzzle" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins from their third album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. It was one of the last songs written by Billy Corgan for Mellon Collie, with the song's lyrics referring to what Corgan thought the public's perception was of him at the time. It was rumored to be the Smashing Pumpkins fifth and final single from this album, as is evidenced by the fact that a promotional single for the song was issued to radio stations worldwide. However, the song " Thirty-Three" was released as the fifth and final single instead.

There was a rumor that a music video was actually filmed for "Muzzle" with Chamberlin, but was never released. Billy Corgan has, however, denied this. The band went on to perform "Muzzle" for their next television appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with replacement drummer, Matt Walker.

Muzzle (band)

Muzzle is an alternative rock band formed in 1994 by Ryan Maxwell, Wesley Nelson, Burke Thomas, and Greg Collinsworth. They have released two albums with Reprise Records: Betty Pickup in 1996 and Actual Size in 1999.

The band split up after the release of Actual Size due to differences with their management team. Maxwell and Nelson went on to form the band Young Sportsmen and had relative local success with the release of an Ep entitled The Familiar Glow of Colliding Particles. Thomas formed the band Pris and later joined Vendetta Red on drums. Collinsworth started the band The Band That Made Milwaukee Famous which later became The Small Change.

Betty Pickup – track listing
  1. "Not a Sing Along"
  2. "What a Bore"
  3. "Free Trampoline"
  4. "Shatterproof"
  5. "Bleed On"
  6. "Glug"
  7. "Beautiful Truth"
  8. "Come on Down"
  9. "Say Windows"
  10. "Flying Lesson"
  11. "Goner"
Actual Size – track listing
  1. "Complicated"
  2. "Ditch Your Love"
  3. "Been Hurt"
  4. "Obvious"
  5. "Know"
  6. "Sailor Song"
  7. "Second Time Around"
  8. "Broken Tooth"
  9. "Dynamic"
  10. "(A Song For) Super Clones of the Future"
  11. "Drop The Needle"
  12. "Thanks to You"

Usage examples of "muzzle".

The very sight of the awesome Forest aborigines, with their fanged muzzles agape and their taloned hands hovering near their weapons, was enough to convert the dance-bone cheaters to instant integrity.

Banish came closer until he was standing right in front of Abies, the muzzle of the .

One swung the bell-like muzzle of his balister toward Pandaras, and then there was a wave of earth and fire which tore the world away.

Each had a barbette with a raised edge in the center and the stubby muzzle of a heavy fortress howitzer protruding from it.

With a gesture of protestation the Basha waved one of the hands on which his dusky muzzle had rested.

The girl stumbled over to the bar and leaned toward Bosco, who stuck the muzzle of his gun against her throat and pushed her back.

He took three or four stalk-steps toward the Buick, never coming out of that hunched-over, cramped-up, taking-a-crap stoop, all the time with his muzzle pointing at the sky.

He raised the shotgun and put the strip of metal against the seam, where the lock entered the frame, the muzzle of the shotgun exactly three inches now from the dead bolt, and looked over his shoulder at Burdon and Karen.

A set of templates for verifying the shape of lock-lugs, the angle of the rear sight mass, the curve between the base-line and the front of rear sight mass, that at the end of the cascabel, the bevel of the breeching-hole, the opening of the cascabel, and the shape of the muzzle swell.

It recoiled freely against the thrust of ions accelerated to light speed, tumbling muzzle over cascabel to meet the shock wave plasma-driven in the opposite direction.

Each of the now newly black-painted monsters was eight and a half feet long from muzzle to cascabel and together with its carriage weighed two tons.

Surely mortal men must break under such punishment, yet they came on, clambering over the torn and twitching corpses of their comrades, their multi-coloured jib has plastered with reeking black mud, never wavering, each man trying to fight his way to the front rank of the attack, scornful of death, eager to seek it out in the smoking muzzles of the guns.

Quailing as The Shadow advanced, Cokey sagged against the door, the gun muzzle nearly pressing squarely between his eyes.

At this moment, Jerry, who had completely forgotten Neem the dalf, felt a wet muzzle pressed against his arm.

Beside those fiery eyes appeared the muzzle of an automatic, trained for the darkish men who were filing out through the rear door.