1. A loop formed in a rope by means of a slipknot so that it binds tighter as the rope is pulled. Also called running noose.
2. A snare or trap.

1. To capture or hold by or as if by a noose.
2. To make a noose of or in.

[Middle English nose, probably from Old French nos, nous, knot, from Latin nōdus. See node.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.