tooth and nail

adverb

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

Examples of tooth and nail in a Sentence

I'll fight tooth and nail to win the finals.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Decrepit office buildings and flophouse hotels have been remade into pricey lofts and townhouses, the coolest address being where prizefighters Depp and Heard went at it tooth and nail, an art deco masterpiece called the Eastern Guardian Building, with its eerie clock tower and greenish glow. David Weiss, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025 Liberals are furious with that advice, saying the real backlash will occur if Democrats don’t fight tooth and nail against mass deportations, many of them taking place without any semblance of judicial screening. Mike Lillis, The Hill, 12 May 2025 The minority leader embodies a far more scripted and cautious messaging approach, sometimes to the detriment of progressives yearning to fight tooth and nail against Trump’s overhaul of the federal government. Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 31 Mar. 2025 Teachers unions and big-city bureaucracies fight tooth and nail to maintain the failing status quo, even as generations of students are left behind. Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for tooth and nail

Word History

First Known Use

1550, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tooth and nail was in 1550

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Tooth and nail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tooth%20and%20nail. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

tooth and nail

adverb
: as hard as one can
fighting tooth and nail
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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