to give a manicure

3.9

To clean and shape someone's fingernails and hands

phrasal verb

: dar una manicura

The salon offers lessons on how to give a manicure professionally.

Examples

She loves to give a manicure to her friends during their spa nights.
Can you give a manicure to my sister?
He learned to give a manicure as a special surprise for his mother.
She loves to give a manicure on weekends.
She learned how to give a manicure to her friends during the beauty class.
At the salon, the stylist will give a manicure that includes nail shaping and polish.
He decided to give a manicure as a special treat for his girlfriend's birthday.

Antonyms

to damage

885 1.4

To harm something so it becomes less useful, valuable, or healthy

neglect

100 3.5

Not caring for someone or something that needs care

How Thorough

deluxe

14 4.3

to gel

1 3.3

to give a manicure

3.9

nailfile

2.1

trim

33 2.5

Surface Forms

give a manicure infinitive

gave a manicure past

given a manicure past participle

giving a manicure present participle

gives a manicure third person singular

Morphology

give + a + manicure

The meaning is directly compositional: 'give' here means 'provide/perform' and 'manicure' names the cosmetic treatment, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer 'to perform a manicure for someone'. The article 'a' is purely grammatical and the verb+service noun pattern (e.g., give a haircut, give a massage) is common cross-linguistically, making the expression immediately understandable to B1 learners.

Etymology

Give a manicure comes from the simple image of one person giving hand care: they clean, shape and paint another person's nails. So it means 'to do a beauty treatment for someone's fingernails and hands'.