NAILING Synonyms: 248 Similar and Opposite Words

nailing

verb

present participle of nail

as in hitting

to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner the boxer nailed his opponent with a devastating left hook

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in deciding

to make final, definite, or beyond dispute this latest infidelity nails it—I'm filing for divorce

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in exposing

to reveal the true nature of an investigative report that nailed the teenage novelist as someone who had plagiarized the works of others

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in arresting

to take or keep under one's control by authority of law the very first time I tried to steal anything, I got nailed

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in grabbing

to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly the running back saw the pass coming in and nailed it

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of nailing In last week’s win over Fannin County, McGraw — who is also a standout girls soccer player — was 6-for-6 on extra points and was 1-for-1 on field goals, nailing a 27-yard attempt. — Caitlyn Stroh-Page, AJC.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Knowing how to apply lipstick is one of those essential beauty skills worth mastering, alongside nailing how to apply cream blush and perfecting your base. — Emma-Jade Stoddart, Glamour, 4 Sep. 2026 The San Diego native has started all 24 of UCLA’s games during his two seasons in Westwood, nailing 36 of his 44 field-goal attempts, including five out his nine attempts from at least 50 yards. — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026 But the point of the Neo is that it eschews frills and frippery in favor of nailing the basics. — ArsTechnica, 24 Aug. 2026 For a team on the edge of the wild-card race, nailing that balance is crucial. — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 What were your thoughts on the discourse around people recreating the dance move from the GIF, and not exactly nailing it? — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 18 Aug. 2026 The Olympian looked confident, nailing her first two tumbling passes with almost no landing errors. — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2026 Making good on his promise in The Holdovers, Dominic Sessa is excellent in the role, nailing the contradictory aspects of a slippery character while mapping his coming-of-age arc with empathy and honesty. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 29 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for nailing

Verb

Season five ended abruptly after a video leaked of Taylor Frankie Paul throwing a stool at her ex Dakota Mortensen and almost hitting her daughter.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
Kyle Schwarber led off with a single, hitting another later in the inning.

— Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of hitting

Verb

As a retired fighter, Taylor faces the daunting task of deciding what comes next.

— Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Right to Work laws consistently rank as one of the most important factors business leaders consider when deciding which state to relocate to or expand in, creating new jobs.

— Mark Mix, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of deciding

Verb

Alibaba alone accounted for more than 151 million Claude interactions, while Anthropic said Moonshot and DeepSeek sometimes routed their own users’ queries to Claude without their knowledge, potentially exposing sensitive information.

— Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
For a financial transaction, that might mean exposing transaction state explicitly, requiring an idempotency key so the same instruction can’t execute twice, and separating the permission to prepare an order from the permission to submit it.

— Barry Bernstein, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of exposing

Verb

The ruling requires federal immigration agents to consider the totality of the circumstances known to them before arresting someone without a warrant.

— Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
San Francisco Police Department The following day, officers served warrants at homes on Executive Park Boulevard and Newhall Street, arresting 46-year-old Leander Pitts and 39-year-old Starr Lamare.

— Kevin Ko, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of arresting

Verb

The helicopter crashed in a driveway between two warehouses, smashing into a pair of truck cargo containers while the news crew tried grabbing video footage of a serious collision involving a Metro bus that also left two people dead.

— Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Schlereth, a former Pro Bowl guard, did not agree with the penalty in general, as Brewer was grabbing Raiders defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi’s jersey in the chest area.

— David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of grabbing

Verb

Next, the door becomes his battering ram, knocking three enemies down to the landing below him.

— Chris Klimek, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026
Some of the entries this year have been knocking on the Hall door for years, including Tickle Me Elmo, the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Mahjong.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of knocking

Verb

The job is determining which structures still serve the business, and which persist only from historical habit.

— Hemant Kapadia, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Since late in the 2024-25 season, determining the facts around an offside decision has been handed over to AI and involves dozens of cameras being fixed around every stadium.

— Graham Scott, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of determining

Verb

And in addition to uncovering valuable data on the business itself, the audit can look into how AI answer engines appear to respond to questions about a category, an industry and competitors.

— Michelle Mekky, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Scientists are uncovering clues that suggest cosmic rays come from extremely hot and faraway areas of the universe, ejected by exploding stars and powerful objects called supermassive black holes.

— Jesse Liu, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2026