# nail

Pronunciation: say "NAYL" /neɪl/

## Noun

1. The thin, hard plate covering the tip of a finger or toe, or the similar hard claw on the toes of many animals.
   - Simple: The hard covering at the end of a finger or toe, including an animal's claw.
   - _He tapped his nail against the glass to get the bartender's attention._
   - _She painted her nails a deep red for her sister's wedding._
2. A slender, pointed metal fastener driven through layers of wood or similar material with a hammer and held in place by friction.
   - Simple: A thin piece of metal with a sharp point, hammered into wood to hold pieces together.
   - _The carpenter drove a nail through the joint with two quick strokes._
   - _Rusty nails stuck out of the old fence boards._
10. The hard, horny plate at the tip of the upper beak in ducks and related birds.
   - Simple: The small hard bump at the very tip of a duck's beak.
   - _The duck used the nail of its bill to pry a snail off the rock._
   - _A duck's nail is often a different color from the rest of its bill._

## Verb

3. To succeed completely at a task, such as a landing or an interview. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To do something very well, with no mistakes.
   - _The gymnast nailed her landing and the crowd erupted._
   - _He needs to nail this interview to get the job._
4. To fasten something to something else by driving nails through it, or to drive nails into a surface.
   - Simple: To hammer nails into something, usually to fix one thing to another.
   - _The workers nailed plywood over the windows before the hurricane._
   - _She plans to nail the brackets directly into the wall studs._
5. To make certain or confirm, used with down.
   - Simple: To make a plan or detail certain and final. Always used with down.
   - _Negotiators nailed down the final terms of the contract late Friday._
   - _We need to nail down exactly who is responsible for each task._
6. To catch someone or something. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To catch someone, often when they are doing something wrong.
   - _Detectives nailed the suspect as he tried to board a train._
   - _Security footage helped the store nail the shoplifter before he reached the exit._
7. To hit someone or something squarely and effectively, as with a shot, a punch, or a kicked or thrown ball. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To hit someone or something hard and exactly, for example with a shot, a punch or a ball.
   - _The sniper nailed the practice target from six hundred yards._
   - _Gunners on the deck managed to nail the incoming drone._
8. To expose someone or something as a sham or fraud. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To show that someone or something is fake or lying.
   - _A single leaked email nailed the lie that the company had never known about the problem._
   - _Independent lab tests were enough to nail the lie that the cheap supplement could cure arthritis._
9. Of a man, to have sexual intercourse with: a coarse, vulgar slang use. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To have sex with someone, usually said of a man.
   - _He kept boasting at the bar about the women he'd nailed._
   - _Did you actually nail him, or is that another one of your stories?_

## Verb

11. To steal; to make off with another person's property. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To steal something that belongs to someone else.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To stud or boss a surface with nails, or with similar projecting metal pieces.
- (verb) To spike a cannon, disabling it by driving a metal spike into the touch hole.
- (noun) The thickened basal portion of the forewings of certain true bugs (hemipterans).
- (noun) A former English measure of length, one-sixteenth of a yard or one-twentieth of an ell, equal to 2¼ inches (5.715 cm).
- (noun) A round pedestal on which merchants formerly transacted business and settled payments, such as the four bronze nails outside the Exchange in Bristol.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 10** — From Middle English 'nail', from Old English 'næġl', from Proto-Germanic *naglaz and ultimately Proto-Indo-European *h₃nogʰ- ('nail'). It is related to Dutch 'nagel', German 'Nagel', and Swedish 'nagel'.
**Meanings 3–9, 11** — From Middle English 'naylen', from Old English 'næġlan'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/nail (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).