noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A nail with a wide head, traditionally used in the construction and ornamentation of wooden doors.
2. 2
   a nail with a large head; formerly used to decorate doors wordnet

Example

More examples

"Tom backed his car up to check, but the raccoon he had run over was dead as a doornail."

Etymology

From Middle English dore-nail, equivalent to door + nail.

Related phrases

dead as a doornaildeader than a doornaildeaf as a doornaildumb as a doornaildead as doornail

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.