to nail down
20
4.6
- phrasal verb
- /neɪl daʊn/
:
concretar
- Let's meet tomorrow to nail down the final details for the project.
- nail down the details
- nail down an agreement
- nail down the date
So OK, so I think we've nailed down that first part of the day.
- So OK, so I think we've nailed down that first part of the day.
- So of, of the fact that we really had to nail down, you know, the, the asylum process.
- And and again, I want to make sure that we really nail down brand.
- I think it would it would drive me to a more aggressive quest for nailing down some some beliefs.
- The fact that we still don't have legislation means that we're not where we need to be in terms of really nailing down policies and making things predictable.
- And we've been having this argument ever since and it's still not finally nailed down.
- Now, the final concept to to nail down here is when it comes to up potting, right?
- But maybe we should go through, just to get these nailed down, a couple of examples of flourishing and thwarted animals.
- And you do the research, you immerse yourself in the world, you nail down all the details so that the world is wholly authentic.
- So I would say really like try and nail down your routine and what you're doing for work and your hobbies.
- And what happens is you get like this loop where you have all these ideas racing through your head and you just can't nail it down.
Examples
-
Ultimately the volunteer wants to nail down a commitment to vote for the candidate.
Blog text (20) -
The last step was a face-to-face meeting to nail down the specifics.
Blog text (20) -
We're trying to nail down the significant details.
-
Did you nail down an apartment?
-
Well, let's see if we can nail down his time line.
-
Reinhardt, it appears that the staff has neglected to nail down some details.
Fiction book (1992) -
Direct macroeconomic effects of population growth on poverty are harder to nail down.
Academic text (1998) -
Quilter hopes to nail down dates for the artifacts more accurately within the site's 150-year occupation.
Academic text (2011) -
Can we nail down a time for the meeting so everyone can prepare?
-
We need to nail down an agreement to ensure that all parties are satisfied.
Synonyms
596
3.3
To end an argument by agreement or decision
118
3.5
To give clear, exact details about something
78
6.0
To find exactly when or why something happened
74
3.8
Complete the last details to make something ready
29
4.4
To make a decision or plan fixed so it cannot be easily changed
23
4.2
To talk about something in detail until people reach an agreement
22
4.0
Make an agreement official by accepting its final terms
20
3.5
To make something exact, like a date or reason
1
4.8
To bend the end of a nail to hold things together
To make exact details clear and certain
To discuss the details of an agreement until both sides agree
How Final
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'make something definite or certain' is directly based on the physical image of nailing something down to fix it in place, so a learner who knows the literal sense of 'nail' (to fasten) and 'down' can often infer the metaphorical extension. However, the shift from physical fastening to finalizing details/agreement is a metaphorical step that not all B1 learners will automatically predict, so the relation is partial rather than fully compositional.
Etymology
Nail down comes from putting the last nail in place to hold something down and finish it. So when you nail down the details you 'make them definite and final'.