Standard Lemma guide

softnose

adj · noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsɒftnəʊz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈsɔftˌnoʊz/
  • cot-caught-merger: /ˈsɑftˌnoʊz/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: engineering, firearms, government, military, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, politics, tools, war, weaponry

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: soft point

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A bullet of this kind; (uncountable) bullets of this kind collectively.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Topics: engineering, firearms, government, military, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, politics, tools, war, weaponry

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: soft point

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From soft (adjective) + nose.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: pehmeäkärkinen — of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact
  • Finnish: pehmeäkärkinen luoti — bullet of this kind; bullets of this kind collectively
  • Finnish: puolivaippaluoti — bullet of this kind; bullets of this kind collectively