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nail definition

nail (nāl)

noun

    1. a thin, horny covering that grows out over the upper tip of a finger or toe
    2. a similar growth on a toe of a bird, reptile, etc.; claw
  2. a tapered piece of metal, commonly pointed and having a flattened head, driven with a hammer, and used to hold pieces or parts together, to hang things on, etc.
  3. an old cloth measure, equal to 2 inches

Etymology: ME naile < OE nægl, akin to Ger nagel < IE base *onogh, nail > Sans áṅghri-, foot, Gr onyx, nail, L unguis, fingernail

transitive verb

  1. to attach or fasten together or onto something else with or as with nails
  2. to secure, hold, or fasten shut with nails
  3. to fix (the eyes, attention, etc.) steadily on an object
  4. to discover or expose (a lie, etc.)
  5. Informal to catch, capture, seize, or intercept
  6. Informal to hit squarely

Etymology: ME nailen < OE mæglan

nail Idioms

hard as nails

callous, unfeeling, remorseless, etc.

hit the nail on the head

to do or say whatever is exactly right or to the point

nail down

  1. to fasten tightly with nails
  2. to settle definitely; clinch

nail up

  1. to fasten with nails to a wall or at some height
  2. to fasten (a door, window, etc.) tightly with nails

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms nail idiom

medical nail definition - medical

nail Synonyms

nail

n.

brad, pin, peg, hob, stud; see also spike 1.

Types and sizes of nails include: common, copper, cement coated, masonry, dry wall, galvanized, finishing, flooring, shingle, roofing, doublehead scaffold, spiral siding, staging, boat, hinge, chair, horseshoe, brad, cut, upholsterer's, clout, box, shoe, headless, hobnail; twopenny, fourpenny, sixpenny, eightpenny, tenpenny, twelvepenny.


nail

v.

  1. To hammer

    drive, pound, spike; see beat 2, hammer, hit 1.

  2. To fasten with nails

    secure, hold, bind; see fasten 1.

  3. *To arrest

    capture, detain, apprehend; see arrest 1, seize 2.

hard as nails

callous, unfeeling, remorseless; see cruel 2.

hit the nail on the head*

say what is exactly right, be accurate, come to the point; see define 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

nail Usage Examples

Object

  • jello: Creating and building effective Search Engine marketing campaigns is like trying to nail jello to the wall!

Converse of object

  • hammer: Partly this may be a matter of teaching useful skills - how to hold a fork or hammer a nail.

Adjective modifier

  • rusty: Her voice had the quality of a metal chair being scraped over rusty nails.

Modifies a noun

  • varnish: You should also remove nail varnish or bring remover with you.

Noun used with modifier

  • toe: An In growing toe nail is caused by a splinter of nail or the whole nail causing pressure into the skin.

Preposition: in

  • coffin: For Russia to follow suit would be the final nail in the coffin.
nail usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

nail quotes

Then Jael Heber'swifetook anail ofthetent, and took an hammer inher hand, and went softly untohimand smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

-Bible (Old Testament)

He asked for water, and she brought him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice,Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?

-Bible (Old Testament)

A little neglect may breed mischief†for want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe, the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.

-Franklin, Benjamin

nail quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"nail." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/nail>

APA Style

nail. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/nail

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