nail

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English Vietnamese dictionary

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Advanced English dictionary

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noun, verb
+ noun
1 a thin hard layer covering the outer tip of the fingers or toes: Stop biting your nails! + nail clippers
See also - FINGERNAIL, TOENAIL
2 a small thin pointed piece of metal with a flat head, used for hanging things on a wall or for joining pieces of wood together: She hammered the nail in.
Compare: SCREW (1), TACK (3)
Idioms: a nail in sb's / sth's coffin something that makes the end or failure of an organization, sb's plans, etc. more likely to happen: This latest defeat is another nail in the government's coffin.
on the nail (informal) (of payment) without delay: They're good customers who always pay on the nail.
more at FIGHT v., HARD adj., HIT v., TOUGH adj.
+ verb [VN]
1 to fasten sth to sth with a nail or nails: I nailed the sign to a tree. + Wooden boards had been nailed across the windows. + The shutters had been nailed shut.
2 (informal) to catch sb and prove they are guilty of a crime or of doing sth bad: The police haven't been able to nail the killer.
3 (informal) to prove that sth is not true: We must nail this lie.
Idioms: nail your colours to the mast (especially BrE) to say publicly and firmly what you believe or who you support
Phrasal Verbs: nail sth<->down
1 to fasten sth down with a nail or nails
2 to reach an agreement or a decision, usually after a lot of discussion: All the parties seem anxious to nail down a ceasefire.
nail sb<->down (to sth) to force sb to give you a definite promise or tell you exactly what they intend to do: She says she'll come, but I can't nail her down to a specific time.
nail sth<->up
1 to fasten sth to a wall, post, etc. with a nail or nails: We spent the morning nailing up signposts.
2 to put nails into a door or window so that it cannot be opened: The door had been nailed up from the outside.

Thesaurus dictionary

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n.

1 fastener, fastening, spike, pin:

The pieces were held together by several nails.

2 fingernail, toenail, claw, talon:

The detective found some fibres under the victim's nails.

3 bite one's nails. worry, agonize, fret, lose sleep (over), chafe, suffer, Colloq stew (over or about):

Carl is biting his nails over the result of his cholesterol test.

4 hard or tough as nails.

(a) tough, vigorous, hardy:

After years of mountain-climbing, René is as hard as nails.

(b) cold, unsentimental, unsympathetic, unfeeling:

The boss, as hard as nails, doesn't care what you sacrifice to get the job done.

5 hit the nail on the head. be accurate, be correct, be precise, be right, put (one's) finger on it:

When you said they were fools, you really hit the nail on the head

6 on the nail. immediately, at once, straight or right away, promptly, without delay, on the spot, Colloq US on the barrel-head:

He has always paid his bills right on the nail.

v.

7 attach, secure, join, pin, tack, clinch or clench; fasten, fix, focus, rivet, glue:

The door to the mysterious room was nailed shut. His eyes were nailed to the pressure gauge

8 See nab, above.

9 hit, strike; punch; shoot:

She nailed him with a left hook and he sank like a stone.

10 nail down. settle, secure, resolve, complete, conclude, make final; finalize:

Let's celebrate: I nailed down the order for 10,000 air-conditioning units.

Collocation dictionary

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¹ on the fingers/toes

ADJ.

long | short | sharp | healthy, strong | brittle | broken | manicured, well-kept | painted, polished

(See also

fingernail

and

toenail.)

VERB + NAIL

bite, chew | do, manicure

Do your nails after your bath as they will be softer.

| scrub | clip, cut, trim | file | paint, polish, varnish | dig

He screamed as she dug her nails into his shoulders.

NAIL + VERB

break, split | bite/dig into sth

NAIL + NOUN

brush | clippers, scissors | file | polish, varnish

PREP.

under your ~

There was dirt under his nails.

² piece of metal

ADJ.

long | small | six-inch, etc. | loose | protruding | bent | rusty | brass, iron, etc. | masonry, upholstery, wood

VERB + NAIL

drive (in), hammer (in), knock (in) | pull out, remove

NAIL + NOUN

head | hole | bomb

Concise English dictionary

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nails|nailed|nailingneɪl
noun
+horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits
+a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener
+a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard
verb
+attach something somewhere by means of nails
+take into custody
+hit hard
+succeed in obtaining a position
+succeed at easily
+locate exactly
+complete a pass

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