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

The Washington Nationals had already taken the lead earlier in the fifth inning, but Crews’s three-run home run helped nail down a 7-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. —Danielle Allentuck, Washington Post, 16 June 2026

That flank hasn’t been nailed down by anyone in recent times, with Rodrygo suffering an ACL injury, Franco Mastantuono unconvincing, and Arda Guler drifting further into the middle. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

But most already have their step-by-step process nailed down. —Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 9 June 2026

Trump’s deputies have said that the fund is dead, but Welker wanted to nail down the president’s own position on the matter. —Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026

Rhymes for nail down

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