nails

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of nail.

   The carpenter drove several nails into the heavy beam.

   Her nails were long and carefully manicured.

   Note

   A regular plural that carries every meaning of the singular at once: the fasteners a hammer drives, the horny plates on fingers and toes, a bird's claws, even the hard tip of a duck's bill. Context sorts them out, so a carpenter's nails and a manicurist's nails rarely collide. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, as in "she nails the board down."

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of nail.

   The roofer nails each shingle down in neat rows.

   He nails the audition and lands the lead role.

   Note

   Every use of the verb passes through this one form, from the carpenter's literal sense to the slang ones. The police nail a suspect (catch), a reporter nails a fraud (exposes it), a singer nails the audition (does it perfectly). Most uses take a direct object. Without one, "he nails all afternoon" simply means driving nails. Keep the slang uses for casual speech.

3. 3
   adjectiveslangUKabbreviationellipsis

   Short form of hard as nails.

   Don't worry about him. He's nails and won't back down.

   The team captain is nails, never flinching under pressure.

   Note

   Here British slang drops the first half of the simile and keeps the punch: "Evans is nails, mate," in Chris Merritt's Last Witness (2018). It follows a verb like be and does not grade, so there is no "more nails" or "very nails." The full phrase can mean either tough or callous, and the clipped form inherits both, so tone decides whether it is praise.

4. 4
   noun

   The four round-topped pedestals standing outside the Corn Exchange in Bristol, where merchants once settled their bargains.

   Traders gathered at the nails to finalize the season's grain contracts.

   A buyer would lay his payment on the nails to confirm that the bargain was binding.

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