noun
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a thin horny translucent plate covering part of the dorsal surface of the end joint of each toe
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carpentry a nail driven obliquely, as in joining one beam at right angles to another
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slang printing a parenthesis
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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toenailsimple
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toenailssimple
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have toenailedperfect
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has toenailedperfect
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am toenailingprogressive
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are toenailingprogressive
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is toenailingprogressive
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have been toenailingperfect progressive
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has been toenailingperfect progressive
Past
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toenailedsimple
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had toenailedperfect
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was toenailingprogressive
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were toenailingprogressive
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had been toenailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of toenail
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.
See Examples For:
One of the faces looked very similar, but when she looked more closely, the toenail polish didn't match.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Blood was also seeping from the Italian's shoe during a must-win fourth set, which he later explained was caused by a problematic toenail.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 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
A fine spray of toenail powder shoots into the air.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
She trims their toenails with a repurposed woodworking tool, styles their fur with a $600 dog blow dryer and clips their coats with $1,000 scissors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
Patients are being warned not to clog up A&E with everyday niggles as NHS figures show thousands turned to hospitals for minor ailments such as hiccups and ingrowing toenails last winter.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
A Peruvian politician who had one of her advisers cut her toenails in parliament could be facing the boot.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
Rather than use a shared clipper, Bernoudy said, he would “wait until the shower, and I’d just peel my own toenails off.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025
Me and the gang were sitting on Duval Street, watching our toenails grow.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Studding, 20-foot 2 × 8s, placed 3 feet on center and toenailed to sill.
From Economy of the Round Dairy Barn by Wilber John Fraser
He had used regular 16-penny nails toenailing these thick timbers together.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2023
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.
