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fingernail

American  
[fing-ger-neyl] / ˈfɪŋ gərˌneɪl /

noun

  1. the nail at the end of a finger.

  2. Printing.  a parenthesis.

fingernail British  
/ ˈfɪŋɡəˌneɪl /

noun

  1. a thin horny translucent plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the end joint of each finger

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fingernail

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; 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.

The skinny look to the scoreboard - a 27-23 victory - matched with frayed nerves and chewed fingernails.

From BBC

“The fingernails appeared pristine to me,” notes Watson.

From The Wall Street Journal

"Have I got dirt under my fingernails? Well, I'm trying to turn my brown thumbs green," she laughs.

From BBC

Hewlett had detected metal buried inside some gravel—digging it up, he found a chunk of gold about half the size of his pinkie fingernail.

From The Wall Street Journal

Except for one picked cuticle on a fingernail, which was ever so slightly rimmed with blood.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.