tooth and nail
Americanadverb
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.
She has said she will “fight tooth and nail against any effort to further roll back these fundamental protections.”
From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026
ConocoPhillips is the country’s largest nonsovereign creditor and has been fighting tooth and nail to recoup the roughly $12 billion it is still owed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 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
"We had to fight tooth and nail for that result," said Smith.
From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025
As with everything else he attempted, he had to fight tooth and nail to win a seat in the stern of one of Al Ulbrickson’s boats.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
