drive a nail in someone's coffin

English

Alternative forms

• drive a nail into someone's coffin

Verb

drive 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)

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

Related terms

• another nail in one's coffin
• final nail in the coffin