Meaning & use
nails
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“nails” is a form of “nail”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
The hard, flat pieces at the ends of your fingers and toes.
Grammar: Usually plural when talking about the body: cut your nails. One piece is 'a nail'.
Patterns
- cut your nails
- bite your nails
- paint your nails
- have long nails
She painted her nails bright red for the party.
He bites his nails when he is nervous.
My nails grow very fast in the summer.
nounplural
Small, thin pieces of metal with a flat head and a sharp point, used to join wood.
Grammar: One piece is 'a nail'; the plural 'nails' means more than one.
Patterns
- hammer in nails
- a box of nails
- pull out nails
- rusty nails
He hammered the nails into the wooden boards.
Be careful not to step on those rusty nails.
We need more nails to finish building the fence.
adjectivenot comparableinformalBritish
Very good or excellent.
Grammar: Informal and mainly British; used after a linking verb: That song is nails.
Patterns
- be nails
- that is nails
That new song is nails—I can't stop listening to it.
Her performance last night was nails.
Word forms
| singular | nail |
|---|
Common combinations
- bite your nails
- She bites her nails during exams.
- paint your nails
- He painted his nails black.
- hammer in nails
- They hammered in nails to fix the roof.
- a box of nails
- We bought a box of nails at the hardware store.
- long nails
- She has beautiful long nails.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fingernails
- Use fingernails when you mean only the nails on your hands; nails can include toes.
- tacks
- Tacks are short nails with wide heads; use tacks for pinning paper or fabric.
Word family
- nail verb
- To fasten something with a nail, or to catch someone doing something wrong.
- nail polish noun
- Colored liquid painted on nails for decoration.
- nail file noun
- A small tool for shaping the edges of your nails.
- nail clippers noun
- A tool used to cut your nails.
Commonly confused: nails or nails vs. nales?
nails vs nails vs. nales
The correct spelling is nails with ai. 'Nales' is not a word.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
When talking about all the nails on your hands, use the plural nails. The singular 'nail' would mean only one finger. 'Nales' and 'nailes' are misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nails”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.