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nail set

American

noun

a short rod of steel used to drive a nail below or flush with a surface.

nail set British

noun

a punch for driving the head of a nail below or flush with the surrounding surface

"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 nail set

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

Before that, I had a mermaid-inspired gel nail set that glistened like when the sun beats on tropical waters.

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2024

My mom always asks me to see what my new nail set looks like whenever I travel back home to visit my parents in my sleepy hometown.

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2024

The nail set featured gaudy silver sequins, red gems and gold hamsa hands on each nail.

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2024

If the nails are still in place and straight, you might be able to press them in and seat them with a hammer and nail set.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 10, 2020

With the cup-pointed nail set stamp the background promiscuously.

From The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics Co.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023