¦ noun
1. a small metal spike with a broadened flat head, driven into wood to join things together or to serve as a hook.
2. 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.
3. a former measure of length for cloth, equal to 2 1/4 inches.
4. a former measure of wool, beef, or other commodity, roughly equal to 7 or 8 pounds.
¦ verb
1. fasten with a nail or nails.
2. informal detect or catch (someone, especially a suspected criminal).
3. 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).
4. (nail someone down) elicit a firm commitment from someone.
5. (nail something down) identify something precisely.
Phrases
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.
Derivatives
-nailed adjective
nailless adjective
Origin
OE n?gel (n.), n?glan (v.), of Gmc origin.