Meaning & use
fingernail
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Meanings
nouncountable
The thin hard layer that grows on the top of the end of each finger.
Grammar: Countable: one fingernail, two fingernails; use "a" or a plural.
Patterns
- cut your fingernails
- bite your fingernails
- a broken fingernail
She painted her fingernails bright red before the wedding.
He bit his fingernails whenever he felt nervous.
I caught my fingernail on the zip and it tore.
nounpluralfigurative
Used in the phrase "to the fingernails", meaning completely or in every part.
Grammar: Fixed phrase; always plural and follows "to the".
Patterns
- be something to the fingernails
He is a teacher to the fingernails and never stops explaining things.
She was a dancer to the fingernails, moving gracefully even in the kitchen.
Word forms
| plural | fingernails |
|---|
Common combinations
- bite your fingernails
- Many people bite their fingernails when they are anxious.
- cut your fingernails
- Cut your fingernails straight across to keep them strong.
- paint your fingernails
- She likes to paint her fingernails on Sunday evenings.
- a broken fingernail
- A broken fingernail can be surprisingly painful.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- toenail noun
- The same hard layer on a toe.
- nail noun
- The general word for the hard part on fingers and toes.
Commonly confused: fingernail or thumbnail?
fingernail vs thumbnail
A thumbnail is the nail of your thumb, or a small picture on a screen; a fingernail can be on any finger.
Practice
Which sentence uses "fingernail" correctly?
Choose one answer.
Fingernails are on fingers, so "keeps her fingernails short" is correct. Option 1 refers to a toe, which should be "toenail"; option 2 describes a bird's claws, which are talons; option 4 uses the noun as a verb, which is not possible.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fingernail”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.