toenail

American  

[toh-neyl] / ˈtoʊˌneɪl /

noun

toenails plural

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)

toenails, present (3rd person singular) toenailed, past participle, past toenailing present participle

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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• toenails
  plural

Participles

• toenailing
  present
• toenailed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• toenail
  simple
• toenails
  simple
• have toenailed
  perfect
• has toenailed
  perfect
• am toenailing
  progressive
• are toenailing
  progressive
• is toenailing
  progressive
• have been toenailing
  perfect progressive
• has been toenailing
  perfect progressive

Past

• toenailed
  simple
• had toenailed
  perfect
• was toenailing
  progressive
• were toenailing
  progressive
• had been toenailing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will toenail
  simple
• will have toenailed
  perfect
• will be toenailing
  progressive
• will have been toenailing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of toenail

First recorded in 1835–45; toe + nail

Example Sentences

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

Artists Mario Ayala and Mia Carucci were captured together, hanging across the wall from singer Kelsey Lu, barefoot with black toenail polish on.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 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

Here are his toenail clippers, over there his green nylon tent spread over a missing window in the front door.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer