Meaning of nail-biting

nail-bit•ing

Pronunciation: (nāl'bī"ting), [key]

— n.

the act or practice of biting one's fingernails, esp. as the result of anxiety or nervousness.
nervousness: The announcement that the trade agreement had been signed ended a week of nail-biting on Wall Street.

—adj.

causing nervousness: The nail-biting part of the canoe trip was through the stretches of white water.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.

See also:

nailbiting (Thesaurus)

nail-biter nail bomb

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