horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits
"The doctor gently pushed back her cuticle to trim the nail on her index finger."
a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener
"The carpenter hammered a nail into the wooden frame to secure the door."
a former unit of length for cloth equal to 1/16 of a yard
"The tailor measured the fabric using ancient nails, where each nail represented exactly one-sixteenth of a yard."
The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals.
"She carefully painted her fingernails a bright shade of red before going to work."
In plain English: A nail is a small metal spike with a flat head that you hammer into wood to hold things together.
"He hammered a nail into the wall to hang his picture frame."
Usage: Use this word as both a noun for the hard covering on your fingertips and a verb meaning to fasten something with such an object. Avoid confusing it with "claw," which refers specifically to sharp, curved nails found on animals rather than humans.
succeed at easily
"She sailed through her exams"
"You will pass with flying colors"
"She nailed her astrophysics course"
To fix (an object) to another object using a nail.
"The carpenter hammered a nail into the wooden board to secure the frame in place."
In plain English: To nail something is to hit it hard and accurately with your hand, usually when trying to catch an object.
"He managed to nail down a last-minute meeting with his boss yesterday."
The word "nail" comes from the Middle English and Old English forms of the same term. It has been used in English with this meaning since ancient times, tracing its roots back to a Proto-Indo-European root that also meant nail.