nail
(
nails
plural & 3rd person present
)
(
nailing
present participle
)
(
nailed
past tense & past participle
)
1
n-count
A nail is a thin piece of metal with one pointed end and one flat end. You hit the flat end with a hammer in order to push the nail into something such as a wall.
A mirror hung on a nail above the washstand…
2
verb
If you nail something somewhere, you fix it there using one or more nails.
Frank put the first plank down and nailed it in place…
V n prep/adv
They nail shut the front door…
V n with adj
3
n-count
Your nails are the thin hard parts that grow at the ends of your fingers and toes.
usu poss N in pl
Keep your nails short and your hands clean.
4
verb
To nail someone means to catch them and prove that they have been breaking the law.
INFORMAL
The prosecution still managed to nail him for robberies at the homes of leading industrialists.
V n
5
If you say that someone is as hard as nails, you mean that they are extremely tough and aggressive, either physically or in their attitude towards other people or other situations.
♦
as hard as nails/hard as nails
phrase
v-link PHR
He’s a shrewd businessman and hard as nails…
6
If you say that someone has hit the nail on the head, you think they are exactly right about something.
♦
hit the nail on the head
phrase
V inflects
`I think it would civilize people a bit more if they had decent conditions.’—`I think you’ve hit the nail on the head.’
7
→
a nail in the coffin
→
coffin
→
to fight tooth and nail
→
tooth
nail down
1
phrasal verb
Read more: Top 10 Best Nail Salons In Phoenix, Arizona
If you nail down something unknown or uncertain, you find out exactly what it is.
(=pin down)
It would be useful if you could nail down the source of this tension.
V P n (not pron), Also V n P
2
phrasal verb
If you nail down an agreement, you manage to reach a firm agreement with a definite result.
The Secretary of State and his Russian counterpart met to try to nail down the elusive accord.
V P n (not pron), Also V n P
nail-biting
If you describe something such as a story or a sports match as nail-biting, you mean that it makes you feel very excited or nervous because you do not know how it is going to end.
adj
…the nail-biting legal thriller, `The Pelican Brief’.
nail bomb
(
nail bombs
plural
)
A nail bomb is a bomb which contains nails that are intended to cause a lot of damage and injury when the bomb goes off.
n-count
nail brush
(
nail brushes
plural
)
, nailbrush
A nail brush is a small brush that you use to clean your nails when washing your hands.
n-count
nail file
(
nail files
plural
)
, nailfile
A nail file is a small strip of rough metal or card that you rub across the ends of your nails to shorten them or shape them.
n-count
nail polish
(
nail polishes
3rd person present
)
Nail polish is a thick liquid that women paint on their nails.
n-mass
(=nail varnish)
nail scissors
, nail-scissors
Nail scissors are small scissors that you use for cutting your nails.
n-plural
also a pair of N
Mishka got some nail scissors and started carefully trimming his fingernails.
nail varnish
(
nail varnishes
plural
)
Nail varnish is the same as nail polish.
(BRIT)
n-mass
in AM, use nail polish