1
as in hitching
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 flipping
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thumbing
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
Mercury News Editorial, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thumbing
Verb
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In the new Regensdorf trial, RIVR ONE robots will be hitching rides in Swiss Post delivery vans, then carrying select Swiss Post parcels and Migros Online grocery deliveries from those vans to clients' doorsteps.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
3 Sep. 2025
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But Amazon must be doing something right if even Peacock sees the value of hitching its wagon to the big guy.—
Brian Welk,
IndieWire,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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With astrocytes out of the picture, glutamate, a key neurotransmitter, spilled into extrasynaptic zones, flipping on NMDA receptors and revving up vasopressin neuron activity.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
3 Sep. 2025
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But the decision to accept digital assets isn't as simple as flipping a switch.—
Glenn Gonsalves,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Equally rugged adventure possibilities come via adventure packages offered by local outfitters that put you straight on the river or skimming over the canopy with no need for additional planning.—
The Editors,
Outside,
31 Aug. 2025
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Uranus retro here is like the teacher who pushes you to stop skimming the book and actually read it.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
31 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Thumbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thumbing. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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