tooth and nail

adverb

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Examples: tooth and nail in a Sentence

Definition of tooth and nail

: with every available means : all out

fight tooth and nail

See tooth and nail defined for kids

Examples of tooth and nail in a Sentence

I'll fight tooth and nail to win the finals.

Recent Examples of tooth and nail from the Web

And in Avenatti’s case, Cohen’s legal team has been fighting tooth and nail to keep him as far away from the New York controversy as possible.

— cristian farias, Daily Intelligencer, "Why Michael Cohen and Michael Avenatti Both Had a Bad Day in Court," 31 May 2018
While pretending to abet the hearings, Daugherty fought them tooth and nail.

— kevin baker, The New Republic, "Why America needs truth and reconciliation after Trump," 17 May 2018
Obama’s presidency saw attorneys general in Republican states fight his executive actions tooth and nail in the courts, often successfully.

— henry gass, The Christian Science Monitor, "With dueling DACA cases, Supreme Court showdown seems inevitable," 4 May 2018
The case that produced the Supreme Court decision declaring the federal requirement to purchase health insurance as permissible was the result of a lawsuit brought by 25 such states, fighting the Obama administration tooth and nail.

— chris stirewalt, Fox News, "Trump triangulates early," 9 Mar. 2018
Players fight tooth and nail, and with the occasional elbow, but within the rules — pretty much.

— michael smolens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "They went to emotionally charged political events, and got all civil about it," 2 May 2018
So ends years of strife in Trophy Club, a bedroom community in Northeast Tarrant County that fought tooth and nail not to have an apartment complex on one of the main entrances to the town.

— nicholas sakelaris, star-telegram, "That five-year fight over apartments in Trophy Club? It's over | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 27 Mar. 2018
Though much of the focus has been on Berrios and Kaegi, Raila fought tooth and nail to get on the ballot.

— ashley mizuo, Chicago Reader, "News / Politics Joe Berrios ousted from Cook County assessor's office; Chuy a step closer to Congress," 20 Mar. 2018
The ride-hailing companies have fought tooth and nail to make sure that their drivers are categorized as independent contractors, rather than employees, which means that the drivers themselves are bearing those costs.

— cyrus farivar, Ars Technica, "What’s Uber and Lyft drivers’ median hourly wage? $10 or lower, report finds," 6 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tooth and nail.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.