Definition of nail

• n. - the horny scale of plate of epidermis at the end of the fingers and toes of man and many apes.
• n. - The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera.
• n. - The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds.
• n. - A slender, pointed piece of metal, usually with a head, used for fastening pieces of wood or other material together, by being driven into or through them.
• a. - A measure of length, being two inches and a quarter, or the sixteenth of a yard.
• n. - To fasten with a nail or nails; to close up or secure by means of nails; as, to nail boards to the beams.
• n. - To stud or boss with nails, or as with nails.
• n. - 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.
• n. - To spike, as a cannon.