nail

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nail is part of the Basic English 850.

[change] Pronunciation

[change] Noun

Singular
nail

Plural
nails

A nail in some wood
  1. A small, long, thin sharp metal thing for holding wood together. People put it into the wood by hitting it with a hammer.
    I need some nails to fix the roof.


[change] Verb

Plain form
nail

Third-person singular
nails

Past tense
nailed

Past participle
nailed

Present participle
nailing

  1. To nail something is to use a nail to stick it to something else.
    He nailed the set of shelves onto the wall.
  2. When someone gets an idea just right, we say they nailed it or "hit the nail on the head".
    I think you've nailed the reason why this isn't working.