Meaning & use
thumb
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Meanings
nouncountable
The short, thick digit on the side of the hand that can touch each of the other fingers.
Grammar: Countable: one thumb on each hand, two thumbs.
Patterns
- thumb and forefinger
- the thumb of a glove
She hit her thumb with the hammer and yelped.
He pressed the button with his thumb.
Babies sometimes suck their thumb for comfort.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To signal to passing drivers that you want a lift by holding out your thumb.
Grammar: Often thumb a ride or thumb a lift.
Patterns
- thumb a ride
- thumb a lift
They thumbed a ride to the coast.
He stood by the road, thumbing for a lift.
We thumbed a lift with a farmer in a truck.
verbtransitive
To turn pages quickly with the thumb, reading only a little.
Grammar: Usually thumb through something: thumb through a magazine.
Patterns
- thumb through something
She thumbed through the catalog while waiting.
He thumbed through the book to find the chart.
Word forms
| plural | thumbs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | thumbs |
| past tense | thumbed |
| past participle | thumbed |
| -ing form | thumbing |
Common combinations
- thumbs up
- The manager gave a thumbs up to the plan.
- rule of thumb
- As a rule of thumb, add a pinch of salt per cup.
- under someone's thumb
- He kept his staff under his thumb.
- stick out like a sore thumb
- In a suit, he stuck out like a sore thumb at the beach party.
- thumb through
- She thumbed through the old photos.
- all thumbs
- I am all thumbs when I try to sew.
Synonyms and how they differ
- digit
- Digit is a formal word for any finger or toe, but thumb names one specific finger.
- flick through
- Flick through means to turn pages quickly and suits thumb through, though it is more British.
- hitchhike
- Hitchhike is the plain verb for traveling by getting free rides, whereas thumb a ride describes the signal.
Word family
- thumbnail noun
- the nail of the thumb, or a small picture
- thumbprint noun
- the mark left by a thumb
- thumbscrew noun
- an old torture device or a screw turned by thumb
- thumbs-up noun
- a sign of approval
Commonly confused: thumb or thump?
thumb vs thump
Thump means to hit with a dull sound and is a different word; the b in thumb is silent.
Practice
He had to ___ a ride because his car broke down on a quiet road.
Choose one answer.
To thumb a ride means to hold out a thumb to get a lift. Finger, knuckle and palm are not used as verbs with ride.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thumb”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.