nail bed

American  

[nahyl bed] / ˈnaɪl ˌbɛd /

Sometimes nailbed

noun

1. the dermis and epidermis under a fingernail or toenail.

---

Etymology

Origin of nail bed

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Psoriasis, for instance, can affect the toenails, making them thicker and possibly even causing them to separate from the nail bed.

From Washington Post • May 1, 2023

Declawing “takes not just the nail, but the nail bed and part of the bone and cuts it off,” she said.

From Washington Post • Mar. 9, 2022

It took a while, in large part because Church dropped a weight on his foot in a preseason workout, causing serious damage to his left big toe — open fracture, bone exposed, nail bed destroyed.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2022

The nail bed contains the blood vessels, nerves, and melanocytes, or melanin-producing cells.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Cold polish spreads out across the nail bed of my big toe.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam