softnose
Syllables: soft·nose/ˈsɒftnəʊz/US/ˈsɔftˌnoʊz/
softnose adjective: of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.
Adjective
softnose (not comparable)
- Of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.
- Questions that have arisen regarding the "stopping power" of the modern small-caliber bullet, particularly in view of the reduction of the caliber of the rifle in some services to 0.25 inch, or even less, have led to propositions to adopt soft-nose or "mushrooming" bullets, which will be deformed...1897, “Seacoast Guns”, in Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1896, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 21
- When I got the rifle I shot a coyote in a trap, to see what effect the soft nose bullet would have. He was struck back of shoulder, and a hole torn, where bullet entered, about 3½ inches in diameter.1898 September, A. A. Haines, “The Ideal Gun for Coyotes [letter]”, in G[eorge] O[liver] Shields, editor, Recreation, volume IX, number 3, New York, N.Y.: G. O. Shields (Coquina), →OCLC, page 216...
- Synonyms:
- soft point
Noun
softnose (countable and uncountable, plural softnoses)
- A bullet of this kind; (uncountable) bullets of this kind collectively.
- The soft nose when it strikes a hard substance, mushrooms, would leave ten times as large a hole as a hard nose bullet striking the same substance. A soft nose bullet would leave a ragged edge.1935 November 11, Clyde L. McNeil, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased...
- And get a couple of boxes of .40 caliber Glasers, too. And about a dozen boxes of .30 caliber softnoses for my SKS. You need some cash for all that?2000, John W. Myers, “Can Your Home Fort be Defended if Attacked? Or, ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’”, in The Crossland Shootpout: Adventures of a Photojournalist, Lincoln, Neb.: Writers...
- Synonyms:
- soft point
Examples of softnose in a sentence
- The softnose technique involved placing an inhibitor on a blaster, which allowed a laser to travel at slower speeds, actually penetrating the target.[2002, Eoin Colfer, “Cruisin’ for Chix”, in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Miramax Books...
- The softnoses were just as quickly outlawed, for the obvious reason that these weapons were designed to kill, and not to incapacitate.[2002, Eoin Colfer, “Cruisin’ for Chix”, in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Miramax Books...
- Too bad for her none of her knights in shining armor have been willing to risk a .270 Winchester softnose between the eyes.2004 October 27, William Gussie [pseudonym], “Man, I Wish that Sniper would Go Away”, in The Onion, archived from the original on 14 Mar...
Synonyms of softnose
Forms of softnose
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| alternative form | soft-nose |
| alternative form | soft nose |
| Noun | |
| plural | softnoses |
Origin of softnose
From soft (adjective) + nose.
Questions about softnose
- What does softnose mean?
- Softnose means of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.
- How do you use softnose in a sentence?
- The softnose technique involved placing an inhibitor on a blaster, which allowed a laser to travel at slower speeds, actually penetrating the target.
- What part of speech is softnose?
- Softnose can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce softnose?
- Softnose is pronounced /ˈsɒftnəʊz/ (UK).
Words near softnose in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: softnose (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “softnose.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/softnose. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.