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# nail

«nail» in Mova's school dictionary: **a thin, pointed piece of metal you hit with a hammer to…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (nail, nails); verb (nail, nails, nailed, nailing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A nail is a thin, pointed piece of metal you hit with a hammer to join pieces of wood. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#m1)

2) Your fingernails and toenails are nails too: the hard parts at the ends of your fingers and toes. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#m2)

3) To nail is to fix something with nails. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#m3)

4) To nail something (informal) is to do it perfectly: «She nailed the test.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

things counted or bought in boxes; nails per board, nails used up; in science and health nails grow and should be kept clean and short; phrases «hit the nail on the head» (be exactly right), «nail polish», «bite your nails», «as hard as nails»

### examples

- A box has 100 nails. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x1)
- He uses 4 nails for each board. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x2)
- She painted her 10 nails. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x3)
- How many nails are left after he used 35? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x4)
- Dad nailed the sign to the fence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x5)
- Cut your nails and wash your hands. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x6)
- You hit the nail on the head with that answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x7)
- He nailed his dance at the show. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/#x8)

### note

A thing counted. «For each board» gives a rate: nails = 4 × boards. Trap: «nails» on fingers and toes, 10 each, may be a hidden number. Safety: rusty nails can cause infection; tell an adult if you step on one.

### In the corpora

- [Nails often grow a little faster in summer and on the hand you use most.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/356-nails-sweat-and-smells-smelly-feet-armpits-and-bad-breath/6/)
- [Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same stuff as hair and nails, so they rot away and rarely become fossils.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/385-ice-age-ukraine-and-europe-cave-bears-cave-lions-the-siberian-unicorn-and-mammoth-bone-houses/13/)
- [When atoms change partners, a new substance appears, which is what happens when a nail slowly rusts in water.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/3-molecules-when-atoms-join-up/3/)
- [Rust forms when iron atoms join with oxygen and water, and a rusted nail weighs more than the clean nail.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/3-molecules-when-atoms-join-up/20/)
- [Biting nails and sucking fingers move germs from the hands into the body.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/75-the-dentist-and-washing-hands/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «nail» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nail/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.