nail polish

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noun

a polish of quick-drying lacquer, either clear or colored, used to paint the fingernails or toenails.

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Origin of nail polish

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby nail polish

nailer joist, nail file, nailhead, nailing strip, nail in one's coffin, nail polish, nail scissors, nail set, nail-sick, nail technician, nail up

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nail polish in a sentence

“Gronkowski” itself never manages to sound more erotic than the name of a hearty Polish stew or a D-list WWE performer.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But on Tuesday, we saw another nail hammered into the already pretty tightly nailed down coffin of the two-state solution.
In the Middle East, the Two-State Solution Is Dead|Dean Obeidallah|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The CID speculated that the woman was confirming who lived there before planting a homemade nail bomb.
Abu Dhabi Treats U.S. Teacher’s Murder as Terrorist Attack|Chris Allbritton|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Szymon Oltarzewski is a Polish-born artisan who is also a sculptor in his own right.
Damien Hirst’s Army of Geppettos|Tim Teeman|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

MOSCOW—Every now and then I run into Anna Chapman at a nail salon called “Little Fingers” on Potapovsky Avenue in downtown Moscow.
Ex-Spy Anna Chapman, From Russia Unloved|Anna Nemtsova|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Polish insurgents surrendered to the Prussian troops, after great slaughter, at Posen.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
It is a fine marble, much too hard to admit of minute carving, but taking a high polish.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
It is of an exceedingly hard, densely compact nature; from its hardness difficult to work, but susceptible of a very high polish.
Asbestos|Robert H. Jones
Piegan snorted when I told him we were on the dodge—that they were trying to nail us for holding up the paymaster.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Even in the same scene, time will alter every form, and render the exquisite polish of last year, obsolete rudeness next year.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley

British Dictionary definitions for nail polish

nail polish

nail varnish or US nail enamel

noun

a quick-drying lacquer applied to colour the nails or make them shiny or esp both

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