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Glite Dictionary
soft-nosed

soft-nosed

1 8.2
A bullet with a soft tip that expands when it hits something to cause more damage
  • adjective
  • /sɔft-noʊzd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : de punta blanda
  • It was loaded with soft-nosed bullets.

Examples

  • Hunters often prefer soft-nosed bullets for greater damage on impact with their targets.

  • - You'll want the soft-nosed ones, I expect.

    The Living Daylights (1987)

  • The gun was filled with soft-nosed ammunition, designed to expand when fired.

  • She chose soft-nosed rounds to ensure her shot would be more effective against game animals.

How Expanding

soft-nosed
  • Specialized
1 8.2
full metal jacket
  • Specialized
3 7.4

Surface Forms

soft-nosed positive

Morphology

soft-nosed = soft + nosed (transparent) = soft + nose + ed

Meaning is a direct combination of 'soft' + 'nosed' (i.e., having a soft tip/nostril-like part), which learners can deduce from the components.

Etymology

Soft-nosed comes from soft- meaning 'not hard' and -nosed meaning 'having a nose' or front tip, where 'nose' names the very front of things like a plane or a car. So a soft-nosed bullet has a soft front tip that expands when it hits something.