nail down

verb

nailed down; nailing down; nails down

1

: to make (something, such as a victory) certain to happen

They need to score another touchdown to nail down the victory.

2

: to find out or identify (something) exactly

Her doctors haven't yet been able to nail down a diagnosis.

They're trying to nail down the cause of our network problems.

3

: to make (something) definite or final

nail down a decision

Examples of nail down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, neuroscientists and other members of the natural sciences as well as philosophers continue to try to nail down how consciousness accounts for attributes that collectively define us as humans — and that might define a future AI. — Keith Tidman, Baltimore Sun, 24 Sep. 2026

The Debut Having just premiered in Telluride days earlier, Jesse Eisenberg’s latest film was riding a huge wave of buzz for Julianne Moore’s lead performance, but opinions on the movie itself were harder to nail down. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026

Broncos wide receivers coach Ronald Curry said watching Webb deliver messages to players in meetings now is the perfect balancing act that many young coaches can struggle to nail down. — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Our study takes only a tiny step – but still a step – in that direction, helping to nail down the mechanism of exotic superconductivity in graphene. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for nail down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown