Glossary
Nail Technician Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential nail technician terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key nail technician vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in nail technician training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Acrylic
- Liquid and powder that form artificial nails.
- Curing
- Hardening gel with light.
- Cuticle
- Skin at the base of the nail.
- Dip powder
- A powder system for nails.
- Disinfection
- Killing germs on tools.
- E-file
- An electric nail file.
- Fill
- Maintaining acrylic growth.
- Free edge
- The tip of the nail.
- Gel
- Polish cured under UV or LED light.
- Nail art
- Designs on nails.
- Nail bed
- Skin under the nail.
- Paronychia
- A nail fold infection.
- Primer
- Helps products adhere.
- Single-use items
- Files and buffers used once.
- Ventilation
- Removing fumes.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Nail Technician practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Nail Technician training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.