| **Long-term debt - Additional Information (Detail) € in Thousands** |                 | 1 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended           |                 |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------|----------------|--------------------------|-----------------|
||
| Senior notes, due 2023-2025                                               |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Weighted average interest rate for borrowings                             |            |           | 3.10%                    |            |
| Remaining weighted average life of notes                                  |            |           | 1 year 2 months 15 days  |            |
| Senior notes, due 2023-2027                                               |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Weighted average interest rate for borrowings                             |            |           | 3.10%                    |            |
| Remaining weighted average life of notes                                  |            |           | 2 years 2 months 8 days  |            |
| Senior notes, due 2023-2030                                               |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Weighted average interest rate for borrowings                             |            |           | 3.90%                    |            |
| Remaining weighted average life of notes                                  |            |           | 2 years 9 months 14 days |            |
| Euro loan, due 2023 | Bank of America                                     |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Weighted average interest rate for borrowings                             |            |           | 2.12%                    |            |
| Euro loan, due 2023 | Bank of America | Tranches One                      |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Term loan | €                                                       |            |           |                     | € 115,000 |
| Euro loan, due 2023 | Bank of America | Tranches Two                      |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Term loan | €                                                       |            |           |                     | € 150,000 |
| Revolving credit agreement, due 2024                                      |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Revolving credit facility                                                 |            | $ 850,000,000  |                     |            |
| Credit facility, term                                                     |            | 5 years        |                     |            |
| Revolving credit agreement, due 2024 | Swing Line Loans                   |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Revolving credit facility                                                 |            | $ 75,000,000   |                     |            |
| Weighted average interest rate for borrowings                             |            | 5.07%          |                     |            |
| Term Loan Facility Agreement Due 2024                                     |            |           |                     |            |
| **Debt Instrument [Line Items]**                                          |            |           |                     |            |
| Credit facility, term                                                     | 1 year 3 months |           |                     |            |
| Term Loan Facility                                                        | $ 200,000,000   |           |                     |            |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Remaining weighted average life of notes.
+ References
No definition available.
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Term Loan Facility
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**ndsn_TermLoanFacility**Namespace Prefix:**ndsn_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**credit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.
+ References
No definition available.
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Weighted average interest rate of debt outstanding.
+ References
No definition available.
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.
+ References
Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b)) -URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682
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| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of loans payable (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer), excluding current portion.
+ References
Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22) -URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120391452&loc=d3e13212-122682
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| X                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| X                                                                                                                                                    |
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| X                                                                                                                                                    |
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| X                                                                                                                                             |
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| X                                                                                                                                                 |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| X                                                                                                                                |
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| X                                                                                                                                |
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| X                                                                                                                                                               |
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| X                                                                                                                                            |
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| X                                                                                                                                                                |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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