noun
- a large-headed nail formerly used to strengthen doors
Usage: archaic
Examples
- The old castle door was reinforced with heavy doornails.
- Medieval carpenters used doornails to secure wooden planks.
- The phrase ‘dead as a doornail’ refers to these old-fashioned nails.
- Doornails were hammered flat against the wood for extra strength.
- The blacksmith forged doornails with large, flat heads.