thumb

1
as in to hitch
to travel by securing free rides thought I'd thumb into town instead of paying for a cab

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to flip
to turn over pages in an idle or cursory manner I thumbed through the book during the flight but was too distracted to really read it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of thumb Israel, a small nation dependent on our country for military support, is thumbing its nose at us, the most powerful country in the world. Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 17 Sep. 2025 That film now boasts a $247 million domestic haul, nothing to thumb your nose at, but nothing compared to the DCU's big Marvel counterprogramming for the summer season, Superman. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 17 Aug. 2025 Today, Lone Star state legislators are thumbing their noses at the longstanding political norm, followed by every other state, of waiting until the next census before redrawing their congressional districts. Mercury News Editorial, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025 Some swindlers thumb their nose at both and keep their cons going. Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for thumb
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thumb
Verb
  • That outlines Andromeda, the princess, who’s hitched to the rear end of the horse.
    Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Getting stuck in some remote native village for 36 days while hitching rides.
    Corky Carroll, Oc Register, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Voters will decide whether to pass Proposition 50, a ballot initiative redrawing California’s congressional districts to flip five House seats from Republican to Democratic in next year’s midterms.
    Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2025
  • In August 2020, five orcas chased a juvenile white shark, pushed it to the surface, and flipped it onto its back.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was bummed out by Tech’s decision.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Democrats’ most visible strategy appears to be trying to bum a few bucks from the grassroots—when the grassroots’ greatest power is in protest, boycott, and other unified mobilization efforts.
    Sarah Stankorb, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Trees are leafing, birds are chirping and the mere thought of sending a Microsoft Teams or Slack message feels like an affront to Mother Nature; spring has finally sprung in Indianapolis.
    Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 2 July 2025
  • This is because of the increasing demands for networking and switches to connect exponentially larger clusters, from spine to leaf in the front end and back end, rack to rack and accelerator to accelerator.
    Beth Kindig, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • At 14, Wuornos gave birth to a son who was placed for adoption, and she was soon pushed out of the home and began drifting and hitchhiking, per the Netflix documentary.
    Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Having been run out of the movie theater for entry without payment and refusing to go back to his abusive home, a 12-year-old boy (Miles Ekhardt) sucks fiercely on his emotional support pacifier while trying to hitchhike his way out of town.
    Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But the reader soon learns that Ma, who manages a homeless shelter, has for the past year been skimming donations for her own family as food grows scarcer in Kolkata.
    Tope Folarin, The Atlantic, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The four allegedly used a shell company and fake invoices to skim more than $1 million from donations.
    Kevin G. Hall, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Thumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thumb. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

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