nose about

nose about (third-person singular simple present noses about, present participle nosing about, simple past and past participle nosed about)

1. To snoop around; to search in a place that one shouldn't
   • 2024, Paul Salopek, New Map: Ancient Roads of China, National Geographic[1]

     It’s not hard to find antique roads in China. The place has been shaped and reshaped by engineers for thousands of years. As any Chinese schoolchild will tell you, grand civilizations dating to the Bronze Age blazed intricate communications networks that expanded trade and maintained military control. By nosing about a bit on foot, you can locate ghostly remnants of these historic pathways almost anywhere today, often just a few steps away from expressways.