Word.ws English Dictionary

ten-penny nail

ten-penny nail is the alternative form of tenpenny nail.

Meaning of tenpenny nail

Noun

tenpenny nail (plural tenpenny nails)

  1. (dated) A relatively large nail, three inches (7.62 centimeters) in length.
    • The face, horribly seared by the frequent application of the red-hot poker, and further ornamented by the insertion, in the tip of the nose, of a tenpenny nail, yet smiled blandly in its less lacerated parts.1841, Charles Dickens, chapter 67, in The Old Curiosity Shop

Forms of ten-penny nail

pluralten-penny nails

Questions about ten-penny nail

What is ten-penny nail the alternative form of?
Ten-penny nail is the alternative form of tenpenny nail.

Words near ten-penny nail in the dictionary

  1. ten-in-ones
  2. ten-lined June beetle
  3. ten-lined June beetles
  4. ten-millionth
  5. ten-millionths
  6. ten-penny nail
  7. ten-penny nails
  8. ten-percenter
  9. ten-percenters
  10. ten-pin
  11. ten-pin bowling

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ten-penny nail (page history and authors); tenpenny nail (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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