Meaning & use
thumbing your nose
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiominformalfigurative
Showing open contempt for a rule, authority or person by deliberately ignoring or defying them.
Grammar: Usually appears as thumb your nose at something: the nose changes with the subject (his nose, their noses).
Patterns
- thumb your nose at someone
- thumb your nose at the rules
By parking in the director's space every day, he was thumbing his nose at the whole office.
The company is thumbing its nose at the regulators by ignoring the fines.
Teenagers sometimes enjoy thumbing their noses at their parents' strict rules.
phraseidiomold-fashioned
Making a rude gesture by placing a thumb on the tip of the nose and spreading the fingers to mock someone.
Grammar: Describes a physical action and often takes at: she thumbed her nose at them across the yard.
Patterns
- thumb your nose at someone
The boys ran off, thumbing their noses at the teacher.
In the old cartoon, the mouse stood on the fence thumbing his nose at the cat.
Thumbing your nose in front of a headmaster was never a wise move.
Word forms
| base form | thumb your nose |
|---|---|
| past | thumbed your nose |
Common combinations
- thumb your nose at authority
- The band built its fame by thumbing its nose at authority.
- thumb your nose at convention
- She thumbed her nose at convention and wore red to the funeral.
- thumb your nose at the law
- The owner kept thumbing his nose at the law by ignoring building codes.
- openly thumb your nose
- The club openly thumbed its nose at the league's ruling.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flout
- Flout is more formal and usually takes rules or laws, while thumbing your nose adds a mocking, playful or cheeky attitude.
- defy
- Defy simply means to refuse to obey, whereas thumbing your nose suggests you also want others to see your disrespect.
- snub
- Snub is about rudely ignoring a person, while thumbing your nose can also be aimed at rules or institutions.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: thumbing your nose or turning up your nose?
thumbing your nose vs turning up your nose
Turn up your nose at something means to reject it as not good enough, while thumb your nose at means to defy it or mock it.
Practice
Which sentence best shows someone thumbing their nose at a rule?
Choose one answer.
Thumbing your nose means showing open contempt. Boasting about ignoring the limit fits, whereas asking politely, apologizing or studying all show respect for the rule.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thumbing your nose”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.