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:
IBM has unveiled a new chip design which it says could enable manufacturers to cram 100 billion transistors on a silicon chip the size of a fingernail.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
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
Above the grimed crescent of his fingernail was the verse, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”
From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez
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
Researchers are now working on a clear nail polish that could make that possible by turning long fingernails into touchscreen-compatible styluses.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2026
He paints his fingernails and is no stranger to samba dancing in the finish area, wanting to bring more colour to alpine skiing.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
The Wallace who came out of the creek, drenched in too-short jeans, a too-tight shirt, with shaggy unkempt hair and fingernails that were about two feet long, was twenty-three years old.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
