nail — ODE · Shobdo

nail /neɪl

▸ noun

1 a small metal spike with a broadened flat head, driven into wood to join things together or to serve as a hook:

don't try and hammer nails into the ceiling joists

a masonry nail.

2 a horny covering on the upper surface of the tip of the finger and toe in humans and other primates:

she began to bite her nails

[as modifier] a pair of nail clippers.

▪ an animal's claw:

the clicking of a dog's nails on a wooden floor.

▪ a hard growth on the upper mandible of some soft-billed birds.

3 a medieval measure of length for cloth, equal to 21/4 inches.

4 a medieval measure of wool, beef, or other commodity, roughly equal to 7 or 8 pounds.

▸ verb [with object]

1 [with adverbial of place] fasten with a nail or nails:

the strips are simply nailed to the roof.

2 informal detect or catch (someone, especially a suspected criminal):

have you nailed the killer?.

▪ expose (a lie or other deception):

he spoke out to nail the lie that he'd had a row with his manager.

3 informal (of a player) strike (a ball) forcefully and successfully:

she was stretched to the limit and failed to nail the smash.

▪ Baseball (of a fielder) put (a runner) out by throwing to a base:

he muffed a perfect throw home that should have nailed Joe by yards.

▪ mainly North American English (of a player) defeat or outwit (an opponent):

Navratilova tried to nail her on the backhand side.

▪ (of a player) secure (a victory) conclusively:

I fancy the Scots to nail a win.

4 informal perform (an action or task) perfectly:

she absolutely nailed the high notes

I guess they were indeed impressed (nailed it!).

5 vulgar slang mainly US English (of a man) have sex with (someone).

– PHRASES

a nail in the coffin of an action or event regarded as likely to have a detrimental or devastating effect on (a situation or person):

this was going to put the final nail in the coffin of his career

companies will be pushed to the brink, driving another nail in the coffin of British manufacturing.

as hard as nails (also hard as nails)
(of a person) very tough or callous:

I can fight for whatever I want and I'm hard as nails.

on the nail informal
(of payment) without delay:

not paying on the nail could be extremely expensive.

as tough as nails (also tough as nails)
(of a person) very strong and resilient in the face of hardship or pain:

a leader who is as tough as nails

[as modifier] a tough as nails sergeant.

– PHRASAL VERBS

nail down /ˌneɪl ˈdaʊn

1 (nail something down, nail down something) fasten something securely with nails.

2 (nail something down, nail down something) identify something precisely:

something seems unexpected—I can't nail it down, but it makes me uneasy.

3 (nail something down, nail down something) secure an agreement:

the company has finally nailed down the agreement with its distributors.

▪ (nail someone down, nail down someone) succeed in causing someone to make a firm commitment:

I can't nail her down to a specific date.

– DERIVATIVES

nailless adjective

– ORIGIN Old English nægel (noun), næglan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch nagel and German Nagel, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin unguis and Greek onux.