nail

nail is part of the Basic English 850.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /neɪl/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

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.

2. Thick plate at the ends of fingers and toes.

This section needs someone to add example sentences to it.

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.