Definitions for thumb
θʌmthumb

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thumb, pollexnoun

   the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb

2. thumbnoun

   the part of a glove that provides a covering for the thumb

3. ovolo, thumb, quarter roundverb

   a convex molding having a cross section in the form of a quarter of a circle or of an ellipse

4. hitchhike, hitch, thumbverb

   travel by getting free rides from motorists

5. flick, flip, thumb, riffle, leaf, riffverb

   look through a book or other written material

   "He thumbed through the report"; "She leafed through the volume"

6. finger, thumbverb

   feel or handle with the fingers

   "finger the binding of the book"

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thumbnoun

   The short thick digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.

2. thumbnoun

   The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.

3. thumbnoun

   A thumbnail picture.

4. thumbverb

   To touch with the thumb.

5. thumbverb

   To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.

   I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.

6. thumbverb

   To hitchhike

   So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.

7. Etymology: Middle English thoume, thoumbe, from þuma, from þūmô (cf. West Frisian tomme, Dutch duim, German Daumen), from tūm- (cf. Albanian thumb,thimth, thembër, Romanian tumburush, Welsh tyfu, Latin tumere, Lithuanian tumėti, Ancient Greek 'burial mound', Avestan 'strong', Sanskrit 'strong, thick').

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. THUMBnoun

   The short strong finger answering to the other four.

   Etymology: ðuma , Saxon.

   Here I have a pilot’s thumb,
   Wreck’d as homeward he did come. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

   When he is dead you will wear him in thumb rings, as the Turks did Scanderbeg. Dryden.

   Every man in Turkey is of some trade: Sultan Achmet was a maker of ivory rings, which the Turks wear upon their thumbs when they shoot their arrows. William Broome.

   It is divided into four fingers bending forwards, and one opposite bending backwards called the thumb, to join with them severally or united, whereby it is fitted to lay hold of objects. John Ray, on the Creation.

2. To Thumbverb

   To handle aukwardly.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Thumb

   The thumb is the first digit (finger) of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb is pollex (compare hallux for big toe), and the corresponding adjective for thumb is pollical.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thumb

   A thumb is the short, thick first digit of the human hand, set lower and apart from the other four fingers and opposable to them for gripping and manipulating objects. It has two phalanges and is also present in various forms in most vertebrates and some invertebrates.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Thumbnoun

   the short, thick first digit of the human hand, differing from the other fingers in having but two phalanges; the pollex. See Pollex

2. Thumbverb

   to handle awkwardly

3. Thumbverb

   to play with the thumbs, or with the thumbs and fingers; as, to thumb over a tune

4. Thumbverb

   to soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling; also, to cover with the thumb; as, to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon

5. Thumbverb

   to play with the thumb or thumbs; to play clumsily; to thrum

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Thumb

   The thumb is the first digit of the hand. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position, the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb is pollex, and the corresponding adjective for thumb is pollical.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Thumb

   thum, n. the short, thick digit, consisting of two phalanges, on the radial side of the human hand: the corresponding member in other animals.—v.t. to handle awkwardly: to play or soil with the thumb or fingers.—v.i. to finger.—adj. Thumbed, having thumbs: marked by the thumb, worn.—ns. Thumb′kin, Thumb′screw, an old instrument of torture for compressing the thumb by means of a screw.—adj. Thumb′less.—ns. Thumb′-mark, a mark left by the impression of the thumb on the pages of a book, &c.; Thumb′piece, a piece serving as a support for the thumb: a knob or projection by means of which a spring is worked by pressure of the thumb; Thumb′pot, a very small pot used by florists for starting slips or seedlings; Thumb′-ring (Shak.), a ring worn on the thumb: a ring for the thumb fastened to the guard of a dagger or sword; Thumb′-stall, a covering or sheath for the thumb.—By rule of thumb, in a rough-and-ready practical manner, found by experience to be convenient; Under one's thumb, under one's influence. [With intrusive b from A.S. þuma; cog. with Ger. daumen.]

The New Hacker's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thumb

   The slider on a window-system scrollbar. So called because moving it allows you to browse through the contents of a text window in a way analogous to thumbing through a book.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thumb

   A facet of the human hand.

   We all have a thumb on each hand.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 8, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. thumb

   The thumb symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the thumb symbol and its characteristic.

2. thumb

   Song lyrics by thumb -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by thumb on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Covering
   • Peruse
   • Ride
   • Touch

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'thumb' in Nouns Frequency: #2412

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. 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How to pronounce thumb?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say thumb in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of thumb in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of thumb in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of thumb in a Sentence

1. Nik Wallenda:

   It's actually smaller than my thumb, it's over 25 stories up and we're walking five city blocks and it's pretty amazing.

2. Russell Foster:

   What it probably will do is increase levels of alertness and therefore delay sleep onset ... it's a good rule of thumb to reduce light exposure.

3. Tim Kaine:

   If we're going to ask people to risk their lives, then Congress ought to do our job and put our thumb print on this mission and say, it is in the national interest.

4. Jeffrey Guzzetti:

   It will be jarring if other countries don't immediately follow. I'll be disappointed. But I guess I won't be too surprised if other countries thumb their nose at us and don't follow immediately.

5. My First Barbie:

   The hand is closed, so the thumb is not detached. We did this to make it easier for little hands to dress and undress the doll.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=thumb
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Thumb
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=thumb
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thumb
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thumb
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=thumb
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=thumb
9. ^ The New Hacker's Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3008/3008-h/3008-h.htm#Thumb
10. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=thumb