thumbnail

noun

thumb·nail | \ ˈthəm-ˌnāl

, -ˈnāl\

Definition of thumbnail

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the nail of the thumb

2 : a miniature computer graphic sometimes hyperlinked to a full-size version

thumbnail

adjective

Definition of thumbnail (Entry 2 of 2)

: concise, brief a thumbnail sketch

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about thumbnail

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Examples of thumbnail in a Sentence

Noun

You can see a larger version of the picture by clicking on the thumbnail.

Adjective

a thumbnail outline of the plot of the novel

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Harvest winter squash when the rind can’t be pierced with your thumbnail, around the time when the vines wither or even right after the first light frost. — Arricca Sansone, Country Living, "16 Types of Squash and Everything You Need to Know About Them," 28 Dec. 2018 Not all of the thumbnails are as mundane: Some include famous friends such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jane Fonda. — Lane Florsheim, WSJ, "130,000 Andy Warhol Photos, Once Unknown, Debut in a New Exhibition in California," 27 Sep. 2018 Sometimes the embedded thumbnail data is not created properly and doesn't match the photo. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Palm Phone Review: Fun, endearing, and bad at everything," 1 Dec. 2018 Another way to trigger the caching is to view a file in the normal Finder window when it’s set to show large thumbnails. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, "Reminder: macOS still leaks secrets stored on encrypted drives," 18 June 2018 The brownish-orange, thumbnail-sized butterfly, with a wingspan of only an inch or so, once was fairly common on the North American plains. — Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's most endangered species nears extinction in Oakland County," 13 July 2018 Caves tells Live Science’s Yasemin Saplakoglu that for humans, the measure equates to the size of one’s thumbnail when the arm is extended as if in offer of a thumbs-up. — Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "How Does Your Vision Compare to Other Critters in the Animal Kingdom?," 7 June 2018 Soghoian loaded a webpage in Safari filled with small thumbnails of family pictures. — Jordan Mcmahon, WIRED, "How One Apple Programmer Got Apps Talking to Each Other," 2 June 2018 Realtor Mike McCann remembers this era, too, in the 1990s, with the old, printed black-and-white listings that included only thumbnails. — Cassie Owens, Philly.com, "How this real estate photographer makes homes look listing-ready," 30 May 2018

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