Synonyms

tooth and nail

American

adverb

with all one's resources or energy; fiercely.

We fought tooth and nail but lost.

tooth and nail Cultural

To fight “tooth and nail” is to fight with the intensity and ferocity of a wild animal: “The resistance forces fought the invading troops tooth and nail.”

Etymology

Origin of tooth and nail

First recorded in 1525–35

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:

tooth and nail

And at O’Hare International Airport, American Airlines has been fighting tooth and nail not to lose access to gates in its terminal because of the Chicago hub’s potential to fuel its credit-card loyalty program.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Polly Portwin, from the Countryside Alliance, said the group would "fight tooth and nail" against the proposed law change.

From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025

Paramount Skydance will be fighting this acquisition tooth and nail, including on antitrust grounds.

From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2025

“They will fight tooth and nail over everything.”

From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025

But Nailer was pretty sure that Sadna would fight for him tooth and nail, and maybe even give up her life to save him.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi

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