a slender pointed and headed spike designed to be hammered or driven into a surface, to join materials, serve as a support, etc
a horny sheath protecting the upper end of each finger and toe of human beings and other primates
a claw or other structure corresponding to this
in some soft-billed birds, a horny growth on the upper mandible (segment of beak)
formerly, a unit of cloth measurement, equivalent to 2¼ inches
formerly, a unit of weight for beef, wool, or other commodity, equivalent to seven or eight pounds
a nail in the coffin of
a step towards the destruction, extinction, or disappearance of (something or somebody)
hit the nail on the head
to speak appositely
on the nail
said of payment: immediate
-nailed comb. form
nailless adj
[Old English nægel]