nail

[[t]ne͟ɪl[/t]]

nails, nailing, nailed

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...

He hammered the nail into the branch.

2) VERB If you nail something somewhere, you fix it there using one or more nails.

[V n prep/adv] Frank put the first plank down and nailed it in place...

[V n with adj] They nail shut the front door...

[V-ed] The windows were all nailed shut.

3) N-COUNT: usu poss N in pl Your nails are the thin hard parts that grow at the ends of your fingers and toes.

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]

[V n] The prosecution still managed to nail him for robberies at the homes of leading industrialists.

Syn:

nab

5) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you say that someone is as hard as nails or hard as nails, you mean that they are extremely tough and aggressive, either physically or in their attitude towards other people or other situations.

He's a shrewd businessman and hard as nails...

He simply looked mean and hard as nails.

6) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone has hit the nail on the head, you think they are exactly right about something.

`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 someone's coffin → see coffin

to nail your colours to the mast → see colour

to fight tooth and nail → see tooth

Phrasal Verbs:

- nail down

- nail up