n.
- a small metal spike with a broadened flat head, driven into wood to join things together or to serve as a hook.
- a horny covering on the upper surface of the tip of the finger and toe in humans and other primates.
▸a hard growth on the upper mandible of some soft-billed birds.
- a former measure of length for cloth, equal to 2¹⁄₄ inches.
- a former measure of wool, beef, or other commodity, roughly equal to 7 or 8 pounds.
v.
- fasten with a nail or nails.
- informal detect or catch (someone, especially a suspected criminal).
- informal (in sport) strike (a ball) forcefully and successfully.
▸Baseball (of a fielder) put (a runner) out by throwing to a base.
▸chiefly N. Amer. (of a player) defeat or outwit (an opponent).
-
(nail someone down)
elicit a firm commitment from someone.
-
(nail something down)
identify something precisely.
Phrase
- a nail in the coffin
an action or event likely to have a detrimental or destructive effect. - on the nail
(N. Amer. also on the barrelhead)
(of payment) without delay.
Derivative
- -nailed adj.
- nailless adj.
Etymology
OE nægel (n.), næglan (v.), of Gmc origin.
