nail file
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of nail file
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
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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.
Using these tools and a nail file that Starr had slipped in her pocket when she used the restroom, they cut the zip ties and came up with a plan.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2025
"And you can sit there with a nail file and try to pry the chiton off; you will lose."
From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2024
Trim toenails straight across, and use a nail file on corners, instead of cutting them.
From Washington Post • Jul. 18, 2022
After his time on the show, former engineering student Tom Pellereau used the investment to invent and bring to market a curved nail file, which is now stocked by major supermarkets.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2019
Zooey suddenly turned around, opened the medicine cabinet, replaced his nail file, and took down a remarkably stubby-looking orange stick.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
