thumb
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thumb¹
- /ˈθʌm/
- [ˈθʌ̈m]
Rhymes with -ʌm
Where it comes from
Derived from Middle English thombe, thoume, thoumbe (“thumb”), from Old English þūma (“thumb”), from Proto-West Germanic *þūmō (“thumb”), from Proto-Germanic *þūmô (“thumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūm- (“to grow”).
Cognate with West Frisian tomme (“thumb”), Dutch duim (“thumb”), Low German Duum (“thumb”), German Daumen (“thumb”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk tomme (“inch”), Norn tum (“thumb”), Swedish tumme (“thumb”), tum (“inch”), Russian дюйм (djujm, “inch”), Ancient Greek τύμβος (túmbos, “burial mound”). Also compare Welsh tyfu (“to grow”), Latin tumēre (“to swell”), Lithuanian tumėti (“to thicken, clot”), Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬏𐬙 (amūt, “strong”), Sanskrit तुम्र (túmra, “strong, thick”). The parasitic ‐b has existed since the late 13th century. Doublet of tomb.
noun thumbs · thum · thume · thumbe
- The shortest and thickest 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.
- The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider. a scroll-bar thumb
- A thumbnail picture.
- A top hatch plate for covering an excavator bucket, used to keep material in the digger bucket after scooping it up, and not letting it spill out.
Similar: pollex, digit I, first digit, thumby
verb thumbs · thumbing · thumbed · thum · thume
- To touch or cover with the thumb. to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon
-
To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.
thumb through
Similar: peruse, flip through, browse, leaf, page
- To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride. Oh, look! There’s a car coming! Thumb-no, wave. They probably don’t understand thumbing.
- To hitchhike. So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.
- To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling. He gravely informed the enemy that all his cards had been thumbed to pieces, and begged them to let him have a few more packs.
- To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver. Fargo palmed out his own revolver, thumbing back the hammer as the barrel came up.
- To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed. To thumb a single-action revolver, hold down the trigger and use the thumb on the same hand to fire the gun by manipulating the hammer.
Thumb²
Where it comes from
From its thumb-like shape.
proper noun the Thumb
- The eastern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States (the "Mitten"). Turnip Rock is located in a portion of eastern Michigan dubbed the Thumb, where 140 miles of coastline and waterfront towns offer a variety of outdoor activities, including biking, walking and kayaking.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: finger, pollex, leaf, flick, riffle, hitch, flip, hitchhike, riff, hand, mouth, dosage, dosing, haircut, thumbnail, sucking
noun
Similar: pollex, digit I, first digit, thumby
Translations
Every language
noun digit
| Español | pulgar, pólice, dedo pulgar, dedo gordo, (quiro-)dedo gordo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 엄지 eomji, 엄지손가락 eomjison'garak |
| 日本語 | 親指 oyayubi |
| 中文 | 大拇指 dàmuzhǐ, 拇指 mǔzhǐ, 大指 dàzhǐ, 大拇哥 dàmǔgē |
| हिन्दी | अंगूठा aṅgūṭhā |
| Kiswahili | kidole gumba |
| Português | dedo polegar, polegar |
| Français | pouce |
| Deutsch | Daumen |
| Italiano | pollice, dito grosso |
| Ελληνικά | αντίχειρας antícheiras |
| Română | deget mare, policar |
| Русский | большо́й па́лец bolʹšój pálec |
| Tiếng Việt | ngón tay cái |
| العربية | إِبْهَام ʔibhām |
| עברית | אגודל agudál |
noun part of a slider
| Ελληνικά | εγκοπή ευρετηρίασης egkopí evretiríasis |
|---|
verb touch with the thumb
| Русский | мусо́лить musólitʹ |
|---|
verb turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily
| 中文 | 翻閱 /翻阅 fānyuè |
|---|---|
| Français | feuilleter |
| Deutsch | durchblättern |
| Русский | листа́ть listátʹ, проли́стывать prolístyvatʹ, перели́стывать perelístyvatʹ |
Talk about this word "thumb." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/thumb. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. thumb. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/thumb "thumb." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/thumb.Cite this
@misc{thumb_2026,
title = {thumb},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/thumb},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
