English dictionary

thumb Meaning & Definition

Q: What is the past tense of thumb?

The past tense of thumb is thumbed. The present participle is thumbing.

/ˈθʌm/

What Does Thumb Mean?

Thumb is used as a noun meaning 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. It can also mean The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider. As a verb, it means To touch or cover with the thumb. As a verb, it means (with through) To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.

Thumb: Key Facts

Part of speech	noun, verb
Pronunciation	/ˈθʌm/
Synonyms	riffle, hitch and flick
Plural	thumbs
Verb forms	thumbs, thumbing, thumbed

Thumb Definition (Noun)

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.

Thumb as a Verb

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
To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.
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.
To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.
To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.
↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “thumb”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Noun

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.

Verb

(with through) 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.
(travel) To hitchhike
So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.

Synonyms of Thumb

riffle hitch flick finger riff leaf pollex hitchhike flip digit I first digit thumby browse page peruse

Thumb synonyms and antonyms →

Thumb in a Sentence

a scroll-bar thumb

to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon

thumb through

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

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

2001, "Gary", Wanna See Porn? Take a Look At These (Free Expandable Thumbs) - CLICK HERE (on newsgroup alt.sex.services)

Word Forms & Grammar

thumb (plural thumbs)

thumb (third-person singular simple present thumbs, present participle thumbing, simple past and past participle thumbed)

Words That Rhyme With Thumb

thrum glum bum succumb hum humdrum outcome overcome plumb numb come plum dumb scrim scum slum gum rum income some chum cum scrum abstain from mum grum drum alum crumb from

Origin of Thumb

Origin 1: 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”).

Origin 2: 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.[1] Doublet of tomb.

Thumb: Your Questions Answered

Is thumb a noun or a verb?

Thumb is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.

What is another word for thumb?

You can replace thumb with words such as riffle, hitch and flick. See the full list of thumb synonyms and antonyms.