toenail

American  

[toh-neyl] / ˈtoʊˌneɪl /

noun

1. a nail of a toe.

2. Carpentry. a nail driven obliquely.

3. Printing Slang. a parenthesis.

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verb (used with object)

1. Carpentry. to secure with oblique nailing.

toenail British  

/ ˈtəʊˌneɪl /

noun

1. a thin horny translucent plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the end joint of each toe

2. carpentry a nail driven obliquely, as in joining one beam at right angles to another

3. slang printing a parenthesis

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verb

1. (tr) carpentry to join (beams) by driving nails obliquely

Etymology

Origin of toenail

First recorded in 1835–45; toe + nail

Example Sentences

The black-and-white image — nearly five feet wide — is so crisp that bits of the woman’s toenail polish glimmer and the hair on her thigh appears to spark.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 9, 2026

Every muscle, every toenail, every metallic surface offers sharply focused detail.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Since Carrie has been married — been there, done that — one would think she wouldn’t be in a hurry to sweep up some other dude’s thickened toenail clippings.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2025

"Oh, look at that, Kingy," Dave would say, "It's lighter than a hummingbird's toenail clippings."

From BBC • Dec. 6, 2024

“He’d better be okay. If you so much as chipped a toenail, Father’ll chew you up like a lion’s dinner!”

From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer