idiom · neutral
hit the nail on the head
UK/hɪt ðə neɪl ɒn ðə hɛd/US/hɪt ðə neɪl ɑːn ðə hɛd/hit·the·NAIL·on·the·HEAD
to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem; to be exactly right about something
Examples
“When she said the project failed due to poor planning, she hit the nail on the head.”
“His comment about motivation really hit the nail on the head.”
“You hit the nail on the head — that’s exactly the reason we missed the deadline.”
Band 8 sentence
“Her observation really hit the nail on the head and helped us revise our entire strategy.”
Collocations
- hit the nail on the head about/that
Word family
Common mistakes
hit nail on the head→hit the nail on the head
hit the nail in the head→hit the nail on the head
Say it for a higher band
5be right→6be correct→7+hit the nail on the head
Synonyms
be spot on
Easily confused
be spot on
“His analysis was spot on — we need to act on it.”
Related words
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In Work
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