fingernail

noun

fin·​ger·​nail ˈfiŋ-gər-ˌnāl 

ˌfiŋ-gər-ˈnāl

: the nail of a finger

Examples of fingernail in a Sentence

I trimmed and filed my fingernails.

He had dirt under his fingernails.

Recent Examples on the Web

The baby’s siblings, most of whom were under the age of three, were found with marks, bruises, missing fingernails. —Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 14 May 2026

The link to the Austin case came when a DNA sample taken from under Ayers' fingernail came back as a match to Brashers from the 1990 killing. —CBS News, 13 May 2026

As grieving attendees lined up to pay respects to the children, one woman shut her eyes after peering at one of the children, Kayla, who wore a white dress, her fingernails carefully painted pink. —Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 10 May 2026

McCullers faced five of those hitters during his fingernail-less third frame. —Chandler Rome, New York Times, 7 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for fingernail

• abigail
• cottontail
• countervail
• martingale
• mesoscale
• microscale
• monorail
• nanoscale
• ponytail
• swallowtail
• wensleydale
• yellowtail

Kids Definition

fingernail

noun

fin·​ger·​nail ˈfiŋ-gər-ˌnāl 

ˌfiŋ-gər-ˈnā(ə)l

: the nail of a finger

Medical Definition

fingernail

noun

fin·​ger·​nail ˈfiŋ-gər-ˌnāl, ˌfiŋ-gər-ˈnā(ə)l 

: the nail of a finger