Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for fingernail. Search instead for fingernails.
Synonyms

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.

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

"I only found a tiny little bit," she said, showing a fraction of her little fingernail.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

Two days after the match, a small bruise appeared under my fingernail.

From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025

Not that she could make out sea lions from this distance—the lone sailboat she could see wasn’t any bigger than her fingernail, so a sea lion would be like the size of a freckle.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

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.