thumb

1 of 2

noun

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 thumbHamilton Basso
thumb one's nose
1
: to express disdain or defiance
thumb their nose at opulenceSales Management
2
: to place the thumb at one's nose and extend the fingers as a gesture of scorn or defiance

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
Voting by thumb happens all the time but rarely is noticed. Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 Both Kehoe and Trump were depicted smiling with their thumbs up. Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Feb. 2024 Racist Facebook comments become key issue in Northern Kentucky death penalty case However, prosecutors said, Blankenship largely kept the girl under his thumb, isolating her in their home, withholding financial freedom and limiting her contact with the outside world. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 28 Feb. 2024 Lee and his team gave a big thumbs up to Agave & Rye in downtown Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Star, 21 Feb. 2024 Use only the right hand and only three fingers, middle, index and thumb — only the top two joints of each — with the thumb pushing the food into the mouth. Ligaya Mishan Kyoko Hamada, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024 With the government split, the occupied (collaborationist) French government worked out of Vichy, under the thumb of the German military, while General Charles de Gaulle managed the Free France government-in-exile out of London. Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Garry Monteiro pauses and looks down, twiddling his thumbs. Troy Aidan Sambajon, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Feb. 2024 And that's not all: the Polar Long Sleeve Half Zip Thermal Top has no shortage of smart features, including thumb loops to keep your sleeves in place and your hands warm and a zipper chin guard to prevent the zipper from potentially irritating your skin. Marisa Petrarca, Travel + Leisure, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
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 Long-press a message to give it a quick thumbs up, thumbs down, heart, or other reaction. Kegan Mooney, PCMAG, 8 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thumb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of thumb was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near thumb

Cite this Entry

“Thumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thumb. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

thumb

1 of 2 noun
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
: 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

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