nail

[neyl]

noun

1. 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.

2. a thin, horny plate, consisting of modified epidermis, growing on the upper side of the end of a finger or toe.

3. a former measure of length for cloth, equal to 2.25 inches (5.7 centimeters).

verb (used with object)

1. to fasten with a nail or nails.

   to nail the cover on a box.

2. to enclose or confine (something) by nailing (often followed byup ).

   to nail up oranges in a crate.

   Synonyms: fasten, pin, secure, fix

3. to make fast or keep firmly in one place or position.

   Surprise nailed him to the spot.

4. to accomplish perfectly.

   the only gymnast to nail the dismount.

5. Informal.

   1. to secure by prompt action; catch or seize.

      The police nailed him with the goods.

   2. to catch (a person) in some difficulty, lie, etc.

   3. to detect and expose (a lie, scandal, etc.).

6. Slang.,  to hit (a person).

   He nailed him on the chin with an uppercut in the first round.

7. to focus intently on an object or subject.

   She kept her eyes nailed on the suspicious customer.

8. Obsolete.,  to stud with or as if with nails.

verb phrase

1. nail down,  to make final; settle once and for all.

   Signing the contract will nail down our agreement.

nail

/ neɪl /

noun

1. a fastening device usually made from round or oval wire, having a point at one end and a head at the other

2. anything resembling such a fastening device, esp in function or shape

3. the horny plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the fingers or toes See fingernail toenail

4. the claw of a mammal, bird, or reptile

5. slang,  a hypodermic needle, used for injecting drugs

6. a unit of length, formerly used for measuring cloth, equal to two and a quarter inches

7. an experience or event that tends to shorten life or hasten the end of something

8. 1. to chew off the ends of one's fingernails

   2. to be worried or apprehensive

9. 1. in tough physical condition

   2. without sentiment or feelings

10. to do or say something correct or telling

11. (of payments) at once (esp in the phrase pay on the nail )

verb

1. to attach with or as if with nails

2. informal,  to arrest or seize

3. informal,  to hit or bring down, as with a shot

   I nailed the sniper

4. informal,  to expose or detect (a lie or liar)

5. to fix or focus (one's eyes, attention, etc) on an object

6. to stud with nails

Other Word Forms

• nail-less adjective
• nailer noun
• nailless adjective
• naillike adjective
• renail verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of nail¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nail¹

Old English nǣgl; related to Old High German nagal nail, Latin unguis fingernail, claw, Greek onux

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. 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.

2. on the nail,

   1. of present interest; under discussion.

   2. without delay; on the spot; at once.

      He was offered a job on the nail.

3. 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.

More idioms and phrases containing nail

• bite one's nails
• fight tooth and nail
• hard as nails
• hit the bull's-eye (nail on the head)
• on the nail

Example Sentences

Tooth and nail didn’t seem to do the Coliseum League title game justice on Friday night.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He also said other evidence, which included Ms Whyte's DNA under his nails and her blood on his clothing, was wrong.

Read more on BBC

“Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea,” he said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"As soon as we got outside, it was just smoke everywhere and like bodies on the floor and nails on the floor," she said.

Read more on BBC

From Scotland to China, and from Iceland to West Africa, they have been interred under heavy stones, staked or nailed into graves.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• attach 
• hit 
• pin 
• tack 
• whack