nail down

phrasal verb

nailed down; nailing down; nails down

: to make (something, such as a victory) certain to happen

They need to score another touchdown to nail down the victory.

: to find out or identify (something) exactly

Her doctors haven't yet been able to nail down a diagnosis.

They're trying to nail down the cause of our network problems.

: to make (something) definite or final

nail down a decision

Examples of nail down in a Sentence

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.

As for the menu, the two aren’t almost finished nailing down their food and cocktail offerings. —

Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2025 Not even a Jeopardy contestant can nail down all the details of Céline Dion's illustrious career. —

EW.com, 29 Jan. 2025 The dual-class structure of Paramount stock made the fine points of the deal tricky to nail down, with a number of stakeholders accusing controlling shareholder Shari Redstone of furthering her own interests at the expense of holders of Class B shares. —

Dade Hayes, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2025 The best time to eat breakfast is a bit tricky to nail down. —

Korin Miller, Outside Online, 24 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for nail down