nail polish
40
1.8
- noun
- /neɪl ˈpɑlɪʃ/
:
esmalte de uñas
- She carefully applied nail polish to her toenails before the beach trip.
- apply nail polish
Someone sent me nail Polish from Korea.
- Someone sent me nail Polish from Korea.
- Also from Bourgeois, I picked up this nail Polish, which is beautiful.
- OK, this makes my nail Polish stay on forever.
- They have fluoride, nail Polish, sunscreen and lip balm.
- So Nails Ink, I love their nail polishes and they've created lip products.
- This is called top beauty nail Polish and it is obviously white.
- I did bring my nail Polish, but I forgot.
- So I went over to the makeup and I picked up two nail polishes and lipstick.
Examples
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How much for the nail polish?
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Paulette arranges a nail polish display by the door.
Fiction book (2001) -
This is called top beauty nail Polish and it is obviously white.
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And then then this is just a red nail Polish that I love.
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When did she fall in love with nail polish?
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Someone sent me nail Polish from Korea.
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And we have matching nail polish.
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I went on a nail Polish shopping spree last week.
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Lydia removed the old nail polish and put on a fresh clear coat.
Fiction book (1992) -
The hand resting in her lap was all bone, even though the dawn-colored nail polish was still intact, still brilliant.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
81
2.7
A substance used to make a surface smooth and shiny
1
2.8
A colored or shiny liquid you put on nails to make them look good
1
2.7
A colored or clear liquid you put on nails to make them look shiny and protect them
How Shiny
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a cosmetic lacquer applied to fingernails or toenails' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'nail' (horny plate covering finger or toe) with 'polish' (a substance used to shine surfaces). This noun–noun compound follows a common compositional pattern and has clear cross-linguistic parallels (e.g., Spanish 'esmalte de uñas'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Nail polish is literally the words nail and polish: polish here means 'to make shiny', so the phrase paints a picture of a liquid you put on a fingernail to add color or shine. That's why nail polish means a colored or clear coating you paint on your nails.