noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fingernail
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at finger, nail
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His miniature fingernail polish paintings of everyday objects — a purse, a lipstick tube, a stiletto — are equal parts playful and macabre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
Ortiz says an Arlington police detective called him and asked what fingernail polish Cynthia had been wearing when she disappeared.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
When used together, these ingredients produced a formula that allowed a smartphone to register a fingernail touch, marking an important early success.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2026
There were moments of promise, with Dom Young a fingernail from scoring in the corner from a Herbie Farnworth grubber kick and Morgan Knowles knocking on before grounding the ball under the sticks.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
Helpfully, the middle C key had a full corner missing, a wedge about the size of my fingernail, which got me centered every time.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
He scraped the bottom of the pool with his fingernails and provided a few treatment tips of his own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Pfeiffer: The surprising thing is, you realize you’re just hanging on by your fingernails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
However, nonconductive materials like fingernails or pencil erasers do not alter the electric field, so the screen does not respond.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2026
Last December his daughter, Claire, told the BBC that his teeth were rotting and his fingernails "sometimes fall off".
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Ike slouched next to him, inspecting his fingernails.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
