fingernail

[ fing-ger-neyl ]

noun

1. the nail at the end of a finger.
2. Printing. a parenthesis.

fingernail

/ ˈfɪŋɡəˌneɪl /

noun

1. a thin horny translucent plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the end joint of each finger ungualungular

Word History and Origins

Origin of fingernail¹

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; finger, nail

Example Sentences

Another uses lasers to imprint circuits just 12 nanometers wide—about the length your fingernail grows in 12 seconds.

From Time

Those are races that could be decided by the length of a fingernail.

From Washington Post

Often no larger than a fingernail, microchips are exquisite feats of engineering that pack tens of millions of components to optimize computations.

From Singularity Hub 

The pages regularly shared hate speech and misinformation, largely targeting India’s Muslim minority, including Islamophobic depictions of Muslims as green monsters with long fingernails.

From Time

To access the single, straight-edge blade on the Bond, you first have to open the pliers, then locate the blade, and finally use your fingernail to pick it open.

From Outside Online

They found a shirt button on the floor and a broken fingernail on the floor.

From The Daily Beast

A place where unexplained delays are a matter of course, and where public fingernail clipping is considered only a minor sin.

From The Daily Beast

We could find Waldo anywhere while tripping—like beneath a fingernail or inside our eyelid.

From The Daily Beast

He took one up, eased a stray safety match from his vest pocket, flicked it with his fingernail, and lit up.

From Project Gutenberg

Frey reached in his pocket and pulled out a safety match and flicked it with his fingernail.

From Project Gutenberg

He yanked off the cover, losing most of a fingernail in the process, and removed the fuse.

From Project Gutenberg

Her dainty pointed fingernail, varnished blue, stabbed at points of light.

From Project Gutenberg

"Let's see now," he said, and ran a highly polished fingernail down a long column of names.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• paw
• tentacle