Definition

Adverb - With great force, ferocity, and determination; using every available means and with maximum effort. This phrase describes fighting or struggling in an extremely vigorous, fierce, and uncompromising manner.

Usage

The phrase "tooth and nail" is used to emphasize the intensity and desperation of a struggle, competition, or effort. It is almost always used with verbs like fight, struggle, defend, or resist. - It functions as an adverb, modifying the verb to describe how the action is performed. - It implies a primal, all-out effort, as if using one's bare hands (or teeth and nails) as weapons.

Examples

• The community fought tooth and nail to prevent the old park from being demolished.
• She struggled tooth and nail to get her business off the ground.
• The team defended their lead tooth and nail in the final minutes of the game.
• He will fight tooth and nail for custody of his children.

Advanced Usage

• "To go at it tooth and nail": To engage in a fierce, no-holds-barred argument or physical fight.
  • The two politicians went at it tooth and nail during the debate.
• The phrase can be used in various tenses by conjugating the main verb (fought, will fight, is fighting).

Variants and Related Words

• Tooth-and-nail (adjective, hyphenated): Used to describe such a fight or struggle.
  • It was a tooth-and-nail battle until the very end.

Synonyms

• Fiercely
• Ferociously
• Vigorously
• With all one's might
• To the bitter end

Related Idioms

• "To pull no punches": To act or speak forcefully and without restraint.
• "To give one's all": To expend the maximum possible effort.
• "To fight like a cornered animal": To fight with desperate, primal intensity (a very close synonym in imagery).

Adverb

1. with force and ferocity
   • she fought tooth and nail