finger

noun

fin·ger | \ ˈfiŋ-gər

Definition of finger

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : any of the five terminating members of the hand : a digit of the forelimb especially : one other than the thumb

2a : something that resembles a finger a narrow finger of land

b : a part of a glove into which a finger is inserted

c : a projecting piece (such as a pawl for a ratchet) brought into contact with an object to affect its motion

3 : the breadth of a finger

4 : interest, share —often used in the phrase have a finger in the pie

5 : bird sense 10 —usually used with the

finger

verb

fingered; fingering\ ˈfiŋ-g(ə-)riŋ

Definition of finger (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to touch or feel with the fingers

2a : to play (a musical instrument) with the fingers

b : to play (notes, chords, etc.) with a specific fingering

c : to mark the notes of (a music score) as a guide in playing

3 : to point out : identify

4 : to extend into or penetrate in the shape of a finger

intransitive verb

1 : to touch or handle something

2a : to use the fingers in playing a musical instrument

b : to have a certain fingering —used of a musical instrument

3 : to extend in the shape or manner of a finger

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Examples of finger in a Sentence

Noun

Don't stick your fingers in the cookie batter! He slipped the ring onto her finger. The baby held onto my thumb with her tiny fingers. She ran her fingers through his hair. He drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. a finger of land extending into the sea She was so mad, she gave him the finger. Some angry driver flipped me the finger on the highway this morning.

Verb

He was fingered as a suspect. thus far authorities haven't been able to finger the person who's been lighting fires around town

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The only other major companies with its fingers in the 5G modem pie are Huawei and Samsung. — Michael Simon, PCWorld, "Intel’s exit leaves Qualcomm in full control of the 5G smartphone modem roadmap," 17 Apr. 2019 Inside a Candleholder One of the easiest — and fastest! — ways to get rid of wax residue is to run steaming-hot tap water over the holder, scooping out whatever's inside with your fingers or a paper towel. — Carolyn Forte, Good Housekeeping, "The Best Way to Remove Candle Wax from Clothes, Carpet, and More," 24 Dec. 2018 Just run the stick over the marks, and then gently tap the cream with your finger. — Chloe Metzger, Marie Claire, "The 5 Truly Excellent Beauty Products I'm Loving This Week," 10 Oct. 2018 There's more tea (ugh), scones, and finger sandwiches. — Elissa Sanci, Woman's Day, "I Ate Like Queen Elizabeth For a Week, and It Was a Royal Pain," 18 Apr. 2019 The three-time All-Star underwent a second series of tests, and the plan is to let Murphy’s finger heal on its own. — Michael Wagaman, The Seattle Times, "Belt scores in 18th inning as Giants beat Rockies 3-2," 13 Apr. 2019 The collection of 20 large-scale photographs is notable for the superimposed finger prints on top of images that Soren has culled from breaking news. — Adam Rathe, Town & Country, "Why Tabitha Soren Thinks Failure is a Relief," 9 Apr. 2019 The autonomous system is a virtual third crewman, providing an extra pair of eyes or an extra trigger finger when needed. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "This Crazy Ad for an Israeli Future Tank Is Something Else," 12 Mar. 2019 Among the new offerings: the Oink Cluck Moo, a combination beef hot dog (the moo), chicken fingers (the cluck) and pulled pork (the oink). — Chris Kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, "A guide to visiting all of Maryland's minor league ballparks," 10 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

From lining the playroom with an old shower curtain so your child can finger paint with abandon to letting him co-opt all the pillows in the house to build a killer fort, figure out ways to make your child's creative chaos tolerable for you. — Tehrene Firman, Redbook, "7 Ways You Can Teach Your Kid to Spend Time Alone Without Throwing a Tablet in Their Face," 29 Sep. 2017 Though he was fingered in ’09 by The New York Times as appearing on a list of players who failed what was supposed to be an anonymous round of PED testing in ’03, Commissioner Rob Manfred cautioned in ’16 against drawing conclusions from that. — SI.com, "Exiled by the Cubs, Sammy Sosa Is Enjoying the Life He Wants You to See," 27 June 2018 If anything, this beloved, prolific Japanese auteur had pulled off an upset as stealthy and light-fingered as his movie, which follows a makeshift family of supermarket thieves dwelling in cramped but loving quarters. — Justin Chang, latimes.com, "The wonderful, improbable Palme d'Or triumph of Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Shoplifters' at Cannes," 21 May 2018 An elderly Oregon man in a nursing home was nearly fingered as the Golden State Killer last year after investigators assigned to the sensational cold case tracked him down through a DNA genealogy website, it was reported Saturday. — Fox News, "'Golden State Killer' DNA search led to wrong man last year," 28 Apr. 2018 Kuma fingered a loose, perforated canopy strung up by one of his students and discussed it briefly with him. — Nikil Saval, New York Times, "Kengo Kuma’s Architecture of the Future," 15 Feb. 2018 Its rules place the onus upon anyone fingered as a possible alien to prove otherwise. — The Economist, "From dusty villages to Delhi, Indians seek people to persecute," 5 July 2018 Fleet-fingered with a bright and keen tone, he’s not seen particularly often onstage in New York these days, so this one-night engagement provides a rare opportunity. — New York Times, "13 Pop, Rock and Jazz Concerts to Check Out in N.Y.C. This Weekend," 5 July 2018 He was fingered as one of two people who forced their way into an East Garfield Park drug house and shot and stabbed four people before torching the home. — William Lee, chicagotribune.com, "Fierce gang leader went from death row to respected 'Mayor of Chicago Avenue'," 29 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'finger.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.