Antonyms for nailed down


Grammar : Adj, verb
Spell : neyl
Phonetic Transcription : neɪl


Definition of nailed down

Origin :
  • Old English negel "metal pin," nægl "fingernail (handnægl), toenail," from Proto-Germanic *naglaz (cf. Old Norse nagl "fingernail," nagli "metal nail;" Old Saxon and Old High German nagel, Old Frisian neil, Middle Dutch naghel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel "fingernail, small metal spike"), from PIE root *(o)nogh "nail" (cf. Greek onyx "claw, fingernail;" Latin unguis "nail, claw;" Old Church Slavonic noga "foot," noguti "nail, claw;" Lithuanian naga "hoof," nagutis "fingernail;" Old Irish ingen, Old Welsh eguin "nail, claw").
  • The "fingernail" sense seems to be the original one. Nail polish attested from 1891. To bite one's nails as a sign of anxiety is attested from 1570s. Nail-biting is from 1805. Hard as nails is from 1828. To hit the nail on the head "say or do just the right thing" is first recorded 1520s. Phrase on the nail "on the spot, exactly" is from 1590s, of obscure origin; OED says it is not even certain it belongs to this sense of nail.
  • As in incontrovertible : adj beyond dispute
  • As in assured : adj absolutely certain
  • As in open-and-shut : adj pretty much decided
  • As in secure : adj certain, definite
  • As in stationary : adj not moving; fixed
  • As in definitive : adj authoritative
  • As in exact : adj accurate, precise
  • As in immobile : adj motionless, fixed
  • As in memorize : verb remember
  • As in assure : verb make certain
  • As in recall : verb remember
  • As in remember : verb keep in mind; summon into mind
  • As in settle : verb straighten out, resolve
  • As in batten : verb fasten securely
  • As in transfix : verb pierce
  • As in infix : verb fix
  • As in circumscribe : verb mark off, delimit
  • As in pin on : verb fix
  • As in affirm : verb declare the truth of something
  • As in define : verb give description
  • As in determine : verb conclude, decide
  • As in ensure : verb guarantee; make secure
  • As in fix : verb establish, make firm
Example sentences :
  • I examined the windows, and found they were nailed down on the outside.
  • Extract from : « Seek and Find » by Oliver Optic
  • I feel as if I had been nailed down in a coffin, and have got fresh air.
  • Extract from : « Beauchamp's Career, Complete » by George Meredith
  • Yet the houses and castles hold there as if they were nailed down.
  • Extract from : « America, Volume IV (of 6) » by Joel Cook
  • The window was nailed down but her pliers soon took care of that.
  • Extract from : « Sally Scott of the Waves » by Roy J. Snell
  • Did you see any man there that had been nailed down to a board and burned?
  • Extract from : « Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War » by United States Senate
  • Then a "real carpet" must be nailed down and pictures hung on the wall.
  • Extract from : « The Art of Entertaining » by M. E. W. Sherwood
  • But the carriage-way had been newly planked, and the planks were not yet nailed down.
  • Extract from : « Phaeton Rogers » by Rossiter Johnson
  • Everything that was not nailed down or stuck to the wall was in the air.
  • Extract from : « Broke » by Edwin A. Brown
  • They should be previously perfectly freed from dust by beating, and should be nailed down before commencing the above operations.
  • Extract from : « Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I » by Arnold Cooley
  • Outside the winds were screaming about the roof-slabs he had nailed down.
  • Extract from : « The Code of the Mountains » by Charles Neville Buck

Synonyms for nailed down

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019