nail down


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Related to nail down: take place, bygones
nail
left to right: common, finishing, ring, and roofing nails

nail

(nāl)
n.
1. A slim, pointed piece of metal hammered into material as a fastener.
2.
a. A fingernail or toenail.
b. A claw or talon.
3. Something resembling a nail in shape, sharpness, or use.
4. A measure of length formerly used for cloth, equal to 1/16 yard (5.7 centimeters).
tr.v. nailed, nail·ing, nails
1. To fasten, join, or attach with or as if with a nail.
2. To cover, enclose, or shut by fastening with nails: nail up a window.
3. To keep fixed, motionless, or intent: Fear nailed me to my seat.
4. Slang
a. To stop and seize; catch: Police nailed the suspect.
b. To detect and expose: nailed the senator in a lie; nail corruption before it gets out of control.
5. Slang
a. To strike or bring down: nail a bird in flight; nail a running back.
b. To perform successfully or have noteworthy success in: nailed the dive; nailed the exam.
6. Baseball To put out (a base runner).
7. Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.
Phrasal Verb:
nail down
1. To discover or establish conclusively: nailed down the story by checking all the facts.
2. To win: nailed down another victory in the golf tournament.
3. To specify or fix: We were finally able to nail down a meeting time.

[Middle English, from Old English nægl, fingernail, toenail; see nogh- in Indo-European roots.]

nail′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nail down

vb (tr, adverb)
1. to fasten down with or as if with nails
2. informal to extort a definite promise or consent from: I nailed him down on the deadline.
3. informal to settle in a definite way: they nailed down the agreement.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb 1. [画像:nail down - succeed in obtaining a position]nail down - succeed in obtaining a position; "He nailed down a spot at Harvard"
bring home the bacon, deliver the goods, succeed, win, come through - attain success or reach a desired goal; "The enterprise succeeded"; "We succeeded in getting tickets to the show"; "she struggled to overcome her handicap and won"
2. nail down - define clearly; "I cannot narrow down the rules for this game"
determine - fix in scope; fix the boundaries of; "the tree determines the border of the property"
concretize - make something concrete
3. nail down - make final; put the last touches on; put into final form; "let's finalize the proposal"
terminate, end - bring to an end or halt; "She ended their friendship when she found out that he had once been convicted of a crime"; "The attack on Poland terminated the relatively peaceful period after WW I"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

w>nail down

vt sep
(lit) boxzunageln ; carpet, lidfestnageln
(fig) personfestnageln (→ to auf +acc); I nailed him down to coming at 6 o’clockich nagelte ihn auf 6 Uhr fest
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
Nail down the lid; caulk the seams; pay over the same with pitch; batten them down tight, and hang it with the snap-spring over the ship's stern.
We might take a smaller house: Trumbull, I know, has a very decent one to let at thirty pounds a-year, and this is ninety." Lydgate uttered this speech in the curt hammering way with which we usually try to nail down a vague mind to imperative facts.
And he believes the ex-Hibs and St Mirren midfielder would nail down a place in Southgate's national squad if he'd been born south of the border.
Appiah joined the club in a pound 2.3 million move from ASM Caen in 2016, but has never truly managed to nail down a first-team spot at the club.
Once a promising youngster in Saints' ranks, Burns left to join Airdrie in 2010 having failed to nail down a spot in Gus MacPherson's Saints' starting XI.
"I've been in the first team a few years and my main goal for this year was to really nail down a position.
"That's why we stayed out working until quarter to one on Tuesday lunchtime - as we did last week - to nail down our pattern of play, nail down what we do, to nail down whose responsibility it is to get in the box and areas where we create and deliver; who's marking who when they break away.
The announcement came with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj in Tehran trying to nail down the deal, which has moved at a glacial pace over years of talks.
GUS POYET has warned Sunderland they must nail down opportunities as they attempt to kick-start their season.
Ryan Fraser admits he needs to grow up if he is to nail down a regular starting berth in the Bournemouth side.

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