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
"You became an investigator, tracking down witnesses. You became an expert in the law in that field. And you fought your own case tooth and nail."
From BBC • Jan. 25, 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
"We had to fight tooth and nail for that result," said Smith.
From Barron's • Oct. 12, 2025
It was also a victory for Avery Brundage, president of the American Olympic Committee, and his allies who had fought tooth and nail to ensure that there was no boycott.
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.
