plural thumbs
1
: the short thick digit of the human hand that is analogous in position to the big toe and differs from the other fingers in having only two phalanges, allowing greater freedom of movement, and being opposable to each of them
also
: a corresponding digit in lower animals
2
: the part of a glove or mitten that covers the thumb
3
: something resembling or suggesting a thumb
I steep the tea with a thumb of ginger, which brings a lovely hint of spice …—
Sarah Nasello
Sarah NaselloI stop for a while among the crowds at the Pinnacle, a thumb of rock protruding from the rim of the Wonderland Range above Halls Gap.—Andrew Bain
Andrew Bain4
: a convex molding : ovolo
thumbed; thumbing; thumbs
1
: to turn over pages
thumb through a book
1
: to request or obtain (a ride) in a passing automobile by signaling with the thumb
2
a
: to leaf through (pages) with the thumb : turn
b
: to soil or wear by or as if by repeated thumbing
a badly thumbed book
Phrases
all thumbs
: extremely awkward or clumsy
: under control : in a state of subservience
her father did not have her that much under his thumb—Hamilton Basso
Hamilton Basso1
: to express disdain or defiance
thumb their nose at opulence—Sales Management
Sales Management2
: to place the thumb at one's nose and extend the fingers as a gesture of scorn or defiance
Synonyms
Examples of thumb in a Sentence
Noun
a little girl sucking her thumb
I accidentally cut my thumb.
My mitten has a hole in the thumb.
Verb
I thumbed a ride to school.
He thumbed his way to New York.
He thumbed across the country.
Recent Examples on the WebStephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Martha Stewart offers advice to indoor gardeners, whether your thumbs are green or magenta.
—David Morgan, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024
But there’s been little comprehensive testing to compare how tech companies are putting their thumbs on the scale to control what chatbots tell us.
—Maxwell Zeff and Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
Flatten tops slightly, and create shallow divots in the center of each mound with either your thumb or the back of a rounded measuring spoon.
3.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
With their exquisite, high-end tastes, Libras always have their thumb on the pulse of all things aesthetic and seek to surround themselves with beauty in all areas of life.
—Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Mar. 2024
The color is most saturated on one of her thumbs, while other fingers are mix of sea green, turquoise, and white.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 21 Mar. 2024
Other actors who have been floated for the role include British actor Henry Cavill and Irish actor and recent Oscar for Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy.
Murphy even recently was given a thumbs up by former Bond, Pierce Brosnan.
—Morayo Ogunbayo, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
After sharing photos of herself flashing a thumbs up at the camera after the surgery and resting in bed with a box of Crumbl Cookies, Wade shared a video of herself doing pull-ups at the gym.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024
At worst, Biden is thumbing his nose at his oath to uphold the Constitution.
—The Editors, National Review, 22 Feb. 2024
Or maybe, like Larry opening up a spite store at the end of Season Ten, David is moving in the same general direction as a way to thumb his nose at all the viewers who’ve been whining about the end of Seinfeld for the last 26 years.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2024
Like other top categories — best-selling fiction, religious texts, books on knitting and crochet — cookbooks tend to be thumbed repeatedly over time.
—Danny Freedman, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2024
Taylor Swift's instantly iconic red coat is getting a furry thumbs up from another red icon.
—Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 4 Dec. 2023
Two years later, Turkey again thumbed its nose at the United States by attacking Kurdish forces in Syria, American allies who had just helped defeat the Islamic State there.
—Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
Bingo lunged forward, thrusting her arm out and thumb down.
—Alyson Krueger Martina Tuaty, New York Times, 12 Dec. 2023
People in the local office garb of slacks and zip vests brushed past, thumbing their smartphones.
—Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
Noun
Steel strings twang with each pull from the metal rings — wearable guitar picks — adorning his right thumb, index and middle finger.
—Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Martha Stewart offers advice to indoor gardeners, whether your thumbs are green or magenta.
—David Morgan, CBS News, 29 Mar. 2024
But there’s been little comprehensive testing to compare how tech companies are putting their thumbs on the scale to control what chatbots tell us.
—Maxwell Zeff and Thomas Germain / Gizmodo, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
Flatten tops slightly, and create shallow divots in the center of each mound with either your thumb or the back of a rounded measuring spoon.
3.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
With their exquisite, high-end tastes, Libras always have their thumb on the pulse of all things aesthetic and seek to surround themselves with beauty in all areas of life.
—Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Mar. 2024
The color is most saturated on one of her thumbs, while other fingers are mix of sea green, turquoise, and white.
—Kara Nesvig, Allure, 21 Mar. 2024
Other actors who have been floated for the role include British actor Henry Cavill and Irish actor and recent Oscar for Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy.
Murphy even recently was given a thumbs up by former Bond, Pierce Brosnan.
—Morayo Ogunbayo, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
After sharing photos of herself flashing a thumbs up at the camera after the surgery and resting in bed with a box of Crumbl Cookies, Wade shared a video of herself doing pull-ups at the gym.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
Bruce Lee At the beginning of the film, Po thumbs his nose.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024
At worst, Biden is thumbing his nose at his oath to uphold the Constitution.
—The Editors, National Review, 22 Feb. 2024
Or maybe, like Larry opening up a spite store at the end of Season Ten, David is moving in the same general direction as a way to thumb his nose at all the viewers who’ve been whining about the end of Seinfeld for the last 26 years.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2024
Like other top categories — best-selling fiction, religious texts, books on knitting and crochet — cookbooks tend to be thumbed repeatedly over time.
—Danny Freedman, Washington Post, 3 Jan. 2024
Taylor Swift's instantly iconic red coat is getting a furry thumbs up from another red icon.
—Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 4 Dec. 2023
Two years later, Turkey again thumbed its nose at the United States by attacking Kurdish forces in Syria, American allies who had just helped defeat the Islamic State there.
—Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
Bingo lunged forward, thrusting her arm out and thumb down.
—Alyson Krueger Martina Tuaty, New York Times, 12 Dec. 2023
People in the local office garb of slacks and zip vests brushed past, thumbing their smartphones.
—Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thumb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
Dictionary Entries Near thumb
Cite this Entry
“Thumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thumb. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
thumb
1 of 2 noun1
a
: the short thick first finger of the human hand next to the index finger
b
: the similar structure in lower animals
2
: the part of a glove or mitten that covers the thumb
thumb
2 of 2 verb1
: to turn pages with the thumb
thumb through a book
2
: to seek or get a ride in a passing automobile by sticking out one's thumb
Medical Definition
thumb
noun
: the short and thick first or most preaxial digit of the human hand that differs from the other fingers in having only two phalanges, in having greater freedom of movement, and in being opposable to the other fingers
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