Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense thumbs, present participle thumbing, past tense, past participle thumbed
1. countable noun
Your thumb is the short thick part on the side of your hand next to your four fingers.
She bit the tip of her left thumb, not looking at me.
Synonyms: digit More Synonyms of thumb
2. countable noun
The thumb of a glove is the part which a person's thumb fits into.
3. verb
If you thumb a lift or thumb a ride, you stand by the side of the road holding out your thumb until a driver stops and gives you a lift.
It may interest you to know that a boy answering Rory's description thumbed a rideto Howth. [VERB noun + to]
Thumbing a lift had once a carefree, easy-going image. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: hitch [informal], request [informal], signal for, hitchhike More Synonyms of thumb
4. See also well-thumbed
5.
See to stick out like a sore thumb
6.
See to twiddle your thumbs
7.
See under sb's thumb
8. green thumb
9. to thumb your nose at someone
10. rule of thumb
Phrasal verbs:
See thumb through
More Synonyms of thumb
thumb in British English
(θʌm)
noun
1.
the first and usually shortest and thickest of the digits of the hand, composed of two short bones
Technical name: pollex ▶ Related adjective: pollical
2.
the corresponding digit in other vertebrates
3.
the part of a glove shaped to fit the thumb
4. architecture another name for ovolo
5. all thumbs
6. thumbs down
7. thumbs up
8. under someone's thumb
verb
9. (transitive)
to touch, mark, or move with the thumb
10.
to attempt to obtain (a lift or ride) by signalling with the thumb
11. (whenintr, often foll by through)
to flip the pages of (a book, magazine, etc) perfunctorily in order to glance at the contents
12. thumb one's nose at
Derived forms
thumbless (ˈthumbless)
adjective
thumblike (ˈthumbˌlike)
adjective
Word origin
Old English thūma; related to Old Saxon thūma, Old High German thūmo, Old Norse thumall thumb of a glove, Latin tumēre to swell
thumb in American English
(θʌm)
noun
1.
the short, thick digit of the human hand that is nearest the wrist and is opposable to the other fingers
2.
a corresponding part in some other vertebrate animals
3.
the part of a glove or mitten that covers the thumb
4. Architecture
ovolo
verb transitive
5.
to handle, turn, soil, or wear with or as with the thumb
6. Informal
to solicit or get (a ride) or make (one's way) in hitchhiking by gesturing with the thumb extended in the direction one is traveling
Idioms:
all thumbs
thumb one's nose
thumbs down
thumbs up
thumb through
under someone's thumb
Derived forms
thumbless (ˈthumbless)
adjective
Word origin
ME (with unhistoric -b) < OE thuma, akin to Ger daume(n) < IE base *tēu-, to swell, increase > L tumor: basic sense, “enlarged finger”
More idioms containing
thumb
thumb your nose at someone or something
a rule of thumb
be under someone's thumb
have a green thumb
someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb
Examples of 'thumb' in a sentence
thumb
You stick out like a sore thumb.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
At the end of the row are two monumental thumbs.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Now van drivers cheerily give him the thumbs up.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Locals wave or give us the thumbs up.
The Sun (2010)
It should be necessary to move only your thumb to cut and to keep complete control.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The thumb took two days because the bone in the middle caused problems.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We stuck out like sore thumbs but had some of the best nights of our lives.
The Sun (2015)
That explains them trying to thumb a lift.
The Sun (2015)
So is it time once more to stick out our thumb and chance our arm?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The rest of the senior management team also get the thumbs up.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There should not be more than an inch of flesh between the thumb and forefinger.
Lamplugh, Diana & Sterwin, Diana & Nottidge, Pamela Survive the Nine to Five - a woman's guide to working well (1989)
She had me under the thumb a bit.
The Sun (2011)
What were once their left thumbs became shapeless swollen lumps of meat.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He had also lost his thumb and two fingers on his right hand.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
She was wearing a bright fluorescent pink raincoat and stood out like a sore thumb.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He tries to thumb a lift from cars as they approach from either direction.
Aldiss, Brian Somewhere East of Life (1994)
But any meal with virtually no salt gets the thumbs up.
The Sun (2011)
The supermodel also treasures a tattoo between her thumb and forefinger.
The Sun (2015)
The result is numbness and pins and needles towards the thumb side of your palm affecting all your fingers except the little one.
The Sun (2010)
If this action means that the company survives, investors will give that the thumbs up.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We can't help but move our thumbs across our phones.
Christianity Today (2000)
Open the arms to the sides, turning the thumbs back and sticking the chest out.
The Sun (2011)
The pins and needles are classically felt on the thumb side of the hand, with the little finger being spared.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The verdict An unequivocal thumbs up.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
I did, and a tiny wooden snake jumped out and bit my thumb.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The verdict A resounding thumbs down.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
But they soon run into problems as, with two thumbs on each hand, drivers do not know whether they want to get a ride north or south.
The Sun (2015)
In other languages
thumb
British English: thumb /θʌm/ NOUN
Your thumb is the short, thick part on the side of your hand next to your first finger.
...the tip of her left thumb.
American English: thumb
Arabic: إِبْهامُ الْيَد
Brazilian Portuguese: polegar
Chinese: 拇指
Croatian: palac
Czech: palec
Danish: tommelfinger
Dutch: duim
European Spanish: pulgar
Finnish: peukalo
French: pouce partie du corps
German: Daumen
Greek: αντίχειρας
Italian: pollice
Japanese: 親指
Korean: 엄지손가락
Norwegian: tommel
Polish: kciuk
European Portuguese: polegar
Romanian: degetul marede la mână
Russian: большой палец руки
Latin American Spanish: pulgar
Swedish: tumme
Thai: นิ้วโป้ง
Turkish: baş parmak
Ukrainian: великий палець руки
Vietnamese: ngón tay cái
British English: thumb VERB
If you thumb a lift or thumb a ride, you stand by the side of the road holding out your thumb until a driver stops and gives you a lift.
It may interest you to know that a boy answering his description thumbed a ride to to the city.
American English: thumb
Brazilian Portuguese: folhear
Chinese: 搭便车站在公路边 竖起大拇指请求
European Spanish: hacer autostop
French: faire du stop pour obtenirN
German: per Anhalter fahren
Italian: fare l'autostop per avere
Japanese: ヒッチハイクをする
Korean: 엄지손가락을 들어 히치하이크하다
European Portuguese: folhear
Latin American Spanish: hacer autostop
All related terms of 'thumb'
Tom Thumb
General, stage name of Charles Stratton. 1838–83, US person of restricted growth, exhibited in P. T. Barnum's circus
green thumb
considerable talent or ability to grow plants
thumb drive
a thumb-sized portable computer hard drive and data storage device
thumb index
a series of indentations cut into the fore-edge of a book to facilitate quick reference
thumb knot
a knot formed by making a loop in a piece of cord and drawing one end through it
thumb piano
→ kalimba
lady's-thumb
an annual plant ( Polygonum persicaria ) of the buckwheat family, with dense spikes of pinkish or purplish flowers
thumb through
If you thumb through something such as a book or magazine , you turn the pages quickly rather than reading each page carefully.
miller's thumb
any of several small freshwater European fishes of the genus Cottus , esp C. gobio, having a flattened body: family Cottidae ( bullheads , etc)
thumb a lift
If you give someone a lift somewhere , you take them there in your car as a favour to them.
rule of thumb
A rule of thumb is a rule or principle that you follow which is not based on exact calculations , but rather on experience.
a rule of thumb
a general rule about something which you can be confident will be right in most cases
hop-o'-my-thumb
a dwarf or very small person
thumb one's nose
to raise one's thumb to the nose with the fingers extended, as a coarse gesture of defiance or contempt
under someone's thumb
If you are under someone's thumb , you are under their control , or very heavily influenced by them.
thumbnail
Your thumbnail is the nail on your thumb.
have a green thumb
to be very good at gardening . The usual British expression is have green fingers .
thumbprint
A thumbprint is a mark made by a person's thumb which shows the pattern of lines on its surface.
thumbscrew
A thumbscrew is an object that was used in the past to torture people by crushing their thumbs.
thumb one's nose at
to deride or mock , esp by placing the thumb on the nose with fingers extended
be under someone's thumb
be under the control or influence of another person
to thumb your nose at someone
If you thumb your nose at someone, you behave in a way that shows that you do not care what they think .
to have green fingers green thumb
If someone has green fingers , they are very good at gardening and their plants grow well .
to stick out like a sore thumb
If you say that someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb or stands out like a sore thumb , you are emphasizing that they are very noticeable , usually because they are unusual or inappropriate .
mbira
an African musical instrument consisting of tuned metal strips attached to a resonating box , which are plucked with the thumbs
overhand knot
a knot formed by making a loop in a piece of cord and drawing one end through it
thumb your nose at someone or something
to behave in a way that shows disrespect or contempt for someone or something
someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb
said to mean that someone or something is very noticeable because they are very different from the other people or things around them
stick out a mile
to be extremely obvious
Chinese translation of 'thumb'
thumb
(θʌm)
n(c)
(on hand) 大拇指 (dàmǔzhǐ) (个(個), gè)
vt
to thumb a lift/ride搭便车(車) (dā biànchē)
to give sb/sth the thumbs down (inf) 不同意某人/某事 (bù tóngyì mǒurén/mǒushì)
to give sb/sth the thumbs up (inf) 同意某人/某事 (tóngyì mǒurén/mǒushì)
(noun)
Definition
the short thick finger of the hand set apart from the others
She bit her thumb, not looking at me.
Synonyms
digit
1 (verb)
Definition
to touch, mark, or move with the thumb
a well-thumbed copy of Who's Who
Synonyms
handle
Be careful when handling young animals.
finger
He fingered the few coins in his pocket.
mark
soil
maul
mess up
dog-ear
2 (verb)
Definition
to attempt to obtain (a lift in a motor vehicle) by signalling with the thumb