Snout, Muzzle and Beak Are Not Interchangeable
A snout is the projecting nose and mouth of an animal. English uses different words depending on the animal.
A snout is the projecting nose and mouth of an animal. English assigns its animal-face words fairly strictly: pigs and crocodiles have *snouts*, dogs and horses have *muzzles*, birds have *beaks* or *bills*, insects have *proboscises*, and elephants have *trunks*. Calling a horse's face a snout sounds wrong even though it means the same thing. Applied to a person, *snout* is rude, and in British slang it once meant tobacco or a police informer.
- An animal's projecting nose. *A pig's snout.*
- Muzzle — for dogs and horses. *A muzzle.*
- Beak — for birds. *A beak.*
- Proboscis — for insects. *A proboscis.*
- Middle Dutch — *snute*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | snout | A snout. |
| Plural | snouts | Snouts. |
| Related | muzzle | A muzzle. |
| Related | beak | A beak. |
| Dutch | snute | A snout. |
- The pig pushed its snout into the trough.Animal.
- A horse has a muzzle, not a snout.Usage.
- Snouts in the trough.Idiom.
Which animal gets which word
- Snout — pigs, crocodiles, some fish
- Muzzle — dogs, horses, cattle
- Beak — birds of prey and songbirds
- Bill — ducks, geese and other waterfowl
- Trunk — elephants alone
Middle Dutch or Middle Low German *snute*, a snout, of Germanic origin, related to *snot*.
What is the difference between a snout and a muzzle?
Usage rather than anatomy. Pigs and crocodiles have snouts; dogs and horses have muzzles.
What does snouts in the trough mean?
A disapproving phrase for people greedily helping themselves, usually to public money.