Nail

n.	1.	(Anat.) the horny scale of plate of epidermis at the end of the fingers and toes of man and many apes. His nayles like a briddes claws were. - Chaucer.
	2.	(Zool.) The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
	3.	A slender, pointed piece of metal, usually with a head{2}, used for fastening pieces of wood or other material together, by being driven into or through them.
	4.	A measure of length, being two inches and a quarter, or the sixteenth of a yard. Nail ball (Ordnance) a round projectile with an iron bolt protruding to prevent it from turning in the gun. Nail plate iron in plates from which cut nails are made. On the nail in hand; on the spot; immediately; without delay or time of credit; as, to pay money on the nail; to pay cash on the nail. To hit the nail on the head a - to hit most effectively; to do or say a thing in the right way. - Beaconsfield. b - to describe the most important factor.
v. t.	1.	To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams. [imp. & p. p. Nailed (nāld); p. pr. & vb. n. Nailing.] He is now dead, and nailed in his chest. - Chaucer.
	2.	To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails. The rivets of your arms were nailed with gold. - Dryden.
	3.	To fasten, as with a nail; to bind or hold, as to a bargain or to acquiescence in an argument or assertion; hence, to catch; to trap. When they came to talk of places in town, you saw at once how I nailed them. - Goldsmith.
	4.	To spike, as a cannon. To nail an assertion to detect and expose it, so as to put a stop to its currency; - an expression probably derived from the former practice of shopkeepers, who were accustomed to nail bad or counterfeit pieces of money to the counter.

Noun	1.	nail - horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits
	2.	nail - a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener
	3.	nail - a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard
Verb	1.	nail - attach something somewhere by means of nails; "nail the board onto the wall"
	2.	nail - take into custody; "the police nabbed the suspected criminals" Synonyms: arrest, collar, cop, nab, apprehend, pick up
	3.	nail - hit hard; "He smashed a 3-run homer" Synonyms: smash, blast, boom
	4.	nail - succeed in obtaining a position; "He nailed down a spot at Harvard" Synonyms: nail down, peg
	5.	nail - succeed at easily; "She sailed through her exams"; "You will pass with flying colors"; "She nailed her astrophysics course" Synonyms: ace, breeze through, pass with flying colors, sail through, sweep through
	6.	nail - locate exactly; "can you pinpoint the position of the enemy?"; "The chemists could not nail the identity of the chromosome" Synonyms: pinpoint
	7.	nail - complete a pass Synonyms: complete

NAIL, A measure of length, equal to two inches and a quarter. Vide Measure.

Gibraltar, abduct, adamant, agonize, articulate, at once, attach, bag, batten, batten down, be correct, be precise, be right, biff, bolt, bone, brick, buckle, butt, button, cabbage, capture, carry off, cement, chafe, clasp, claw, claws, cleat, clench, clinch, clip, clout, clutch, clutches, cold, collar, complete, conclude, concrete, diamond, digits, ding, distinguish, dovetail, enmesh, ensnare, entangle, entrap, fangs, fastener, fastening, finalize, fingernails, fingers, flint, focus, foul, fret, get, glue, grab, granite, grapple, hands, hard as nails, hardy, harpoon, hasp, have, heart of oak, hinge, hit, hitch, hooks, horse, identify, immediately, iron, jam, jaws, join, joint, kidnap, know, know again, land, lasso, latch, lion, lock, make out, mandibles, marble, maxillae, meathooks, mesh, miter, mitts, mortise, nab, nail down, nails, net, nick, nip, nippers, noose, oak, on the nail, on the spot, ox, palm, peg, pin, pincers, pinch, place, pounces, prehend, promptly, punch, rabbet, realize, recall knowledge of, recognize, reidentify, resolve, right away, rivet, rock, rope, sack, scarf, screw, settle, sew, shanghai, shoot, skewer, slog, slosh, snag, snap, snatch, sniggle, sock, spear, spike, spot, staple, steel, stew over, stick, stitch, stone, strike, suffer, tack, take, talon, talons, tangle, tangle up with, teeth, tell, throttle, toggle, tough, trap, unfeeling, unguals, ungulae, unsentimental, unsympathetic, vigorous, wedge, whack, without delay, worry, zipper

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