brown noser
"brown-noser" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“brown noser” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One who brownnoses (flatters or humors somebody in an obsequious manner for personal gain); one who sucks up; a bootlicker, dickrider, ass-kisser, sycophant.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | brown noser |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “brown noser” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
brown noser is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who brownnoses (flatters or humors somebody in an obsequious manner for personal gain); one who sucks up; a bootlicker, dickrider, ass-kisser, sycophant.".
No misspelling variants are generated for brown noser in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: A metaphorical image: when kissing the buttocks of another person, one's nose is liable to be covered in brown feces. The correct English form is brown noser, spelled B-R-O-W-N- -N-O-S-E-R.
Definition
- 1One who brownnoses (flatters or humors somebody in an obsequious manner for personal gain); one who sucks up; a bootlicker, dickrider, ass-kisser, sycophant.
Etymology
A metaphorical image: when kissing the buttocks of another person, one's nose is liable to be covered in brown feces.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “brown noser”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-R-O-W-N- -N-O-S-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.