thumb

1 of 2

noun

ˈthəm 

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

I 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

4

: a convex molding : ovolo

thumb

2 of 2

verb

thumbed; thumbing; thumbs

intransitive verb

1

: to turn over pages

thumb through a book

2

: to travel by thumbing rides : hitchhike

thumbed across the country

transitive verb

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 one's thumb or under the thumb

: under control : in a state of subservience

her father did not have her that much under his thumb

—Hamilton Basso

thumb one's nose

1

: to express disdain or defiance

thumb their nose at opulence

—Sales Management

2

: to place the thumb at one's nose and extend the fingers as a gesture of scorn or defiance

Synonyms

Verb

• hitch
• hitchhike

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 Web

Noun

The Fallout series gives viewers a direct origin of the famous logo when actor Cooper Howard (Walton Goggins) poses for a Vault-Tec ad and gives the now-iconic thumbs up. —Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024

And while the team has upgraded his protection with free-agent guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis and his weapon arsenal with wideout Diontae Johnson, the offensive depth chart is still seen as a sore thumb by most onlookers. —Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 18 Apr. 2024

It was confirmed Wednesday that the director had given the project a thumbs down. —Pat Saperstein, Variety, 17 Apr. 2024

But as a general rule of thumb, people with straight hair types generally should wash their hair every two to three days, said Palm. —Alyssa Hui, Health, 16 Apr. 2024

Organized labor and civic groups gave Question 1 a big thumbs up. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024

Kadin gave me a thumbs up and tossed his spare spray skirt in my direction. —Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 2 Apr. 2024

Taxpayers deserve an independent and complete review — not cherry-picking topics and then putting a thumb on the scale. —Daniel Borenstein, The Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2024

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

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English thoume, thoumbe, from Old English thūma; akin to Old High German thūmo thumb, Latin tumēre to swell

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1647, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2a

Phrases Containing thumb

• green thumb
• hop-o'-my-thumb
• lady's thumb
• miller's-thumb
• rule of thumb
• stick/stand out like a sore thumb
• thumb drive
• thumb index
• thumb-indexed
• thumb one's nose
• thumb one's nose at
• thumb piano
• thumb through
• under one's thumb
• under someone's thumb
• under the thumb

Video

When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

Kids Definition

thumb

1 of 2 noun

ˈthəm 

1

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 verb

1

: 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

ˈthəm 

: 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