nail
Americannoun
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nails
plural
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a slender, typically rod-shaped rigid piece of metal, usually in any of numerous standard lengths from a fraction of an inch to several inches and having one end pointed and the other enlarged and flattened, for hammering into or through wood, other building materials, etc., as used in building, in fastening, or in holding separate pieces together.
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a thin, horny plate, consisting of modified epidermis, growing on the upper side of the end of a finger or toe.
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a former measure of length for cloth, equal to 2.25 inches (5.7 centimeters).
verb (used with object)
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nails,
present (3rd person singular)
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nailed,
past participle, past
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nailing
present participle
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to fasten with a nail or nails.
to nail the cover on a box.
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to enclose or confine (something) by nailing (often followed byup ).
to nail up oranges in a crate.
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to make fast or keep firmly in one place or position.
Surprise nailed him to the spot.
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to accomplish perfectly.
the only gymnast to nail the dismount.
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Informal.
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to secure by prompt action; catch or seize.
The police nailed him with the goods.
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to catch (a person) in some difficulty, lie, etc.
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to detect and expose (a lie, scandal, etc.).
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Slang. to hit (a person).
He nailed him on the chin with an uppercut in the first round.
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to focus intently on an object or subject.
She kept her eyes nailed on the suspicious customer.
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Obsolete. to stud with or as if with nails.
verb phrase
idioms
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hit the nail on the head, to say or do exactly the right thing; be accurate or correct.
Your analysis really hit the nail on the head.
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on the nail,
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of present interest; under discussion.
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without delay; on the spot; at once.
He was offered a job on the nail.
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nail in someone's / something's coffin, something that hastens the demise or failure of a person or thing.
Every moment's delay is another nail in his coffin.
noun
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a fastening device usually made from round or oval wire, having a point at one end and a head at the other
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anything resembling such a fastening device, esp in function or shape
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the horny plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the fingers or toes See fingernail toenail
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the claw of a mammal, bird, or reptile
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slang a hypodermic needle, used for injecting drugs
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a unit of length, formerly used for measuring cloth, equal to two and a quarter inches
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an experience or event that tends to shorten life or hasten the end of something
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to chew off the ends of one's fingernails
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to be worried or apprehensive
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in tough physical condition
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without sentiment or feelings
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to do or say something correct or telling
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(of payments) at once (esp in the phrase pay on the nail )
verb
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to attach with or as if with nails
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informal to arrest or seize
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informal to hit or bring down, as with a shot
I nailed the sniper
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informal to expose or detect (a lie or liar)
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to fix or focus (one's eyes, attention, etc) on an object
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to stud with nails
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nailernoun
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renailverb (used with object)
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nail-lessadjective
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naillessadjective
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naillikeadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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nailsimple
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nailssimple
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have nailedperfect
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has nailedperfect
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am nailingprogressive
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are nailingprogressive
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is nailingprogressive
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have been nailingperfect progressive
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has been nailingperfect progressive
Past
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nailedsimple
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had nailedperfect
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was nailingprogressive
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were nailingprogressive
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had been nailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of nail
First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun) nail, nayl, Old English nægl, cognate with Old Frisian neil, Old Saxon, Old High German nagal, Dutch nagel, German Nagel, Old Norse nagl “fingernail,” all from unattested Germanic naglaz; akin as derivative to Lithuanian nãgas, nagà “hoof,” Old Prussian nage “foot,” Old Church Slavonic noga “leg, foot” ( Serbo-Croatian nòga, Czech noha, Polish noga, Russian nogá; probably originally a jocular reference to the foot as a hoof), Old Church Slavonic nogŭtĭ, Tocharian A maku, Tocharian B mekwa “fingernail, claw,” all from unattested North European Indo-European ənogwh-; further akin to Old Irish ingen, Welsh ewin, Breton ivin, from unattested Celtic ṇgwhīnā, Latin unguis, from unattested Italo-Celtic əngwhi-; Greek ónyx, stem onych-, Sanskrit áṅghri- “foot” from unattested áṅghli-; Armenian ełungn, from unattested onogwh-; Middle English (verb) nail(e), nayle, Old English næglian, cognate with Old Saxon neglian, Old High German negilen, Old Norse negla, from unattested Germanic nagl-janan; compare Gothic ganagljan
Explanation
A nail is the pointed piece of metal that you pound with a hammer when you're building something. When you go to a nail salon, however, don't bring a pack of nails; bring your toes and fingers instead! When construction workers pound nails into wood, they nail them. Another kind of nail is the one at the end of each of your fingers and toes. In addition to hitting a nail, the verb version of nail also means "to arrest," "to succeed easily," and "to hit." Nail polish is what you use to color the nails on your hands (or feet), and when you "hit the nail on the head," you get the exact right answer.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Recovery is well underway, with the sounds of hammers, saws and nail guns ringing through the air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
So I've had 13-odd years of doing that and training my routine and trying to nail that and get as much consistency as I can.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Moreover, given the company’s products and offerings are at different stages of maturity, growth and decline, it’s been challenging for investors to nail down the company’s prospects given its complex structure, Moerdler wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
However, the deal represented the last nail in the coffin for the Kurds' long-held dream of autonomy.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
But when Minna had knocked on her door earlier that morning, Vivian had said she could not talk because she and Maya-Jade were going to the nail salon for a girls’ beauty day.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
"Arboreality is fundamental to understanding primates - including ourselves - because it has shaped our body to a large degree: hands and feet, wrists and ankles, nails instead of claws, etc.,"
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
Even Cyrus’ freakishly long nails and eerie voice are derivative of other horror movie boogeymen, but without their grasp of the uncannily malevolent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
They drove her to the Home Depot store, and when she emerged from the store she allegedly said she hoped those were the right kind of nails.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“What did I get myself into?” he asked, finding kitchen equipment, furniture, clothes, bottles, a family picture, and wooden planks with nails pointing upward coating the floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
But then a pre-raising inspection of the sunken vessel revealed that most of the nails in the planks inside the ship had corroded during the more than four hundred years it had been submerged.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
He nailed several boards together to create a makeshift coffin for the limb.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Both Bouchier and Dunkley are familiar faces in England shirts, but neither has really nailed down a place in the ODI XI despite plenty of opportunities.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
An investor might have nailed the SpaceX question.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Claire Danes nailed drunk acting from take one.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
As she nailed short boards across the tops of two longer ones, Peter understood.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
What is another country that is really nailing it online?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
But the emotional toll of what Chwalinska had achieved was clear to see as she dropped to clay immediately after nailing a forehand winner down the line on her first match point.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Lee is known for making some bold and accurate calls, advising investors to buy stocks during pandemic lows and nailing the 2023 bull market.
From MarketWatch ● May 1, 2026
Alloway praises the Philadelphia-born Pedretti for nailing Cherry’s comedic moments yet also grounding the character in a traumatic backstory — a balancing act the director knew she was capable of after watching “Hill House.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
By midafternoon, Cole had finished covering the roof rafters with plywood and began nailing plywood to the wall panels.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
