nail

1. 1.

   horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits

   Broaderhorny structure

   Narrowerfingernailtoenail

   Part ofintegumentary systemdigit

   Partsroothalf-moonmatrix
2. 2.

   a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener

   Broaderfastener

   Narrowerbradclout naildoornaileightpenny nailfourpenny nailhobnailsixpenny nailspikestaplestub nail
3. 3.

   a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard

   Broaderlinear unit

Other forms of nail

plural

nails·

past tense

nailed·

present participle

nailing·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about nail

What does nail mean?

nail means "attach something somewhere by means of nails". That is the primary sense; the word has 10 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in nail?

nail has 1 syllable: nail. In IPA it is /ˈneɪl/.

What is another word for nail?

Close synonyms include collar, apprehend, arrest, pick up, nab. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is nail a common word?

nail is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with nail?

5 words rhyme with nail. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.