drive a nail in someone's coffin

verb

To do something tending to hasten someone's death or ruin.

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Meanings

verbdrive a nail in someone's coffin (third-person singular simple present drives a nail in someone's coffin, present participle driving a nail in someone's coffin, simple past drove a nail in someone's coffin, past participle driven a nail in someone's coffin)

present singular third person drives a nail in someone's coffin · participle present driving a nail in someone's coffin · past drove a nail in someone's coffin · participle past driven a nail in someone's coffin · alternative drive a nail into someone's coffin

  1. To do something tending to hasten someone's death or ruin.
Cite this entry
APA

drive a nail in someone's coffin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drive%20a%20nail%20in%20someone's%20coffin

MLA

“drive a nail in someone's coffin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drive%20a%20nail%20in%20someone's%20coffin. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “drive a nail in someone's coffin,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/drive%20a%20nail%20in%20someone's%20coffin.

Source: drive a nail in someone's coffin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.