hangnail

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhæŋˌneɪl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈhæŋˌneɪl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(hang′nāl′)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
hang•nail /ˈhæŋˌneɪl/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Pathologya small piece of partly detached skin next to a fingernail.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
hang•nail  (hang′nāl′),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a small piece of partly detached skin at the side or base of the fingernail. Cf. whitlow.
  • 1300–50; Middle English angenayle corn, Old English angnægl, equivalent. to ang- (variant of enge narrow, painful; cognate with German eng, see anger) + nægl callus, nail; modern h- by association with hang

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
hangnail / ˈhæŋˌneɪl/
  1. a piece of skin torn away from, but still attached to, the base or side of a fingernail
Etymology: 17th Century: from Old English angnægl, from enge tight + nægl nail; influenced by hang
'hangnail' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
agnail - reduviid

Forum discussions with the word(s) "hangnail" in the title:


Look up "hangnail" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "hangnail" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.