(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
1.
A ~ is a thin piece of metal with one pointed end and one flat end. You hit the flat end with a hammer in order to push the ~ into something such as a wall.
A mirror hung on a ~ above the washstand...
N-COUNT
2.
If you ~ something somewhere, you fix it there using one or more ~s.
Frank put the first plank down and ~ed it in place...
They ~ shut the front door...
VERB: V n prep/adv, V n with adj
3.
Your ~s are the thin hard parts that grow at the ends of your fingers and toes.
Keep your ~s short and your hands clean.
N-COUNT: usu poss N in pl
4.
To ~ someone means to catch them and prove that they have been breaking the law. (INFORMAL)
The prosecution still managed to ~ him for robberies at the homes of leading industrialists.
VERB: V n
5.
If you say that someone is as hard as ~s, you mean that they are extremely tough and aggressive, either physically or in their attitude towards other people or other situations.
He’s a shrewd businessman and hard as ~s...
PHRASE: v-link PHR
6.
If you say that someone has hit the ~ on the head, you think they are exactly right about something.
‘I think it would civilize people a bit more if they had decent conditions.’—‘I think you’ve hit the ~ on the head.’
PHRASE: V inflects
7.
a ~ in the coffin: see coffin
to fight tooth and ~: see tooth