tooth and nail

adverb

Definition of tooth and nail

: with every available means : all out fight tooth and nail

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about tooth and nail

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of tooth and nail in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

For instance, carbon neutrality will require a great deal of the oil industry, which fought Brown tooth and nail for years, and of the NIMBYs that helped defeat SB827, the urban-density bill. — David Roberts, Vox, "California Gov. Jerry Brown casually drops history’s most ambitious climate target," 11 Sep. 2018 Its success reiterates the activist belief that if net neutrality can’t be saved on the federal level, the fight will have to be fought tooth and nail, state by state. — Karl Bode, The Verge, "California is leading the state-by-state fight for net neutrality," 1 Sep. 2018 The Mets, meanwhile, are having a very not-decent season, currently fighting tooth and nail with the Marlins to avoid the humiliation of having the worst record in the National League. — Dan Gartland, SI.com, "Tim Tebow’s Mom Thinks He’s Ready to Be Called Up to the Majors," 11 July 2018 For a decade, these three have fought tooth and nail for championships and often kept the rest of the series at bay in doing so. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "IndyCar midseason review, part III: What's still to come," 17 June 2018 And, he's been fighting tooth and nail against voter I.D. laws, which 70 plus percent of the country agrees with. — Fox News, "Jonathan Turley: Comey is harming the FBI with tell-all," 19 Apr. 2018 Though Watford fought tooth and nail to keep Silva and eventually succeeded, the damage had already been done. — SI.com, "Why Everton Will Be Marco Silva's Last Chance at Premier League Success After Ugly Watford Split," 17 May 2018 Following a nightmare loan spell in the Premier League with West Ham United, Zaza fought tooth and nail to regain his reputation at Valencia. — SI.com, "AC Milan Reportedly 'On the Verge' of Completing Move for Valencia's Simone Zaza," 5 July 2018 In the meantime, O’Meara said activists are fighting tooth and nail for change, hoping to educate the public about the importance of vaccinating, spaying or neutering strays and ultimately instilling a stronger adoption culture within the country. — Madeline Farber, Fox News, "World Cup 2018 host cities in Russia allegedly killing off stray dogs ahead of tournament," 13 June 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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about tooth and nail

Dictionary Entries near tooth and nail

toothache grass

tooth-billed pigeon

Statistics for tooth and nail

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for tooth and nail

The first known use of tooth and nail was in 1550

See more words from the same year

Comments on tooth and nail

What made you want to look up tooth and nail? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

ecstatic

marked by a state of overwhelming emotion

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ