thumb
thumb /θ'ʌm/ (thumbs thumbing thumbed)
1 [N-COUNT]
Your thumb is the short thick part on the side of your hand next to your four fingers.
She bit the tip of her left thumb, not looking at me.
2 [VERB] V n to n, V n
If you thumb a lift or thumb a ride, you stand by the side of the road holding out your thumb until a driver stops and gives you a lift.
It may interest you to know that a boy answering Rory's description thumbed a ride to Howth...
Thumbing a lift had once a carefree, easy-going image.
= hitch
3
see also well-thumbed
4 [PHRASE] V and N inflect
If you say that someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb or stands out like a sore thumb, you are emphasizing that they are very noticeable, usually because they are unusual or inappropriate.
Does the new housing stick out like a sore thumb or blend into its surroundings?...
5 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs, you mean that they do not have anything to do and are waiting for something to happen.
The prospect of waiting around just twiddling his thumbs was appalling...
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR, PHR after v
If you are under someone's thumb, you are under their control, or very heavily influenced by them.
I cannot tell you what pain I feel when I see how much my mother is under my father's thumb...
7
green thumb: see green
to thumb your nose at someone: see nose
rule of thumb: see rulethumb through
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you thumb through something such as a book or magazine, you turn the pages quickly rather than reading each page carefully.
He had the drawer open and was thumbing through the files.
1 [N-COUNT]
Your thumb is the short thick part on the side of your hand next to your four fingers.
She bit the tip of her left thumb, not looking at me.
2 [VERB] V n to n, V n
If you thumb a lift or thumb a ride, you stand by the side of the road holding out your thumb until a driver stops and gives you a lift.
It may interest you to know that a boy answering Rory's description thumbed a ride to Howth...
Thumbing a lift had once a carefree, easy-going image.
= hitch
3
see also well-thumbed
4 [PHRASE] V and N inflect
If you say that someone or something sticks out like a sore thumb or stands out like a sore thumb, you are emphasizing that they are very noticeable, usually because they are unusual or inappropriate.
Does the new housing stick out like a sore thumb or blend into its surroundings?...
5 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you say that someone is twiddling their thumbs, you mean that they do not have anything to do and are waiting for something to happen.
The prospect of waiting around just twiddling his thumbs was appalling...
6 [PHRASE] v-link PHR, PHR after v
If you are under someone's thumb, you are under their control, or very heavily influenced by them.
I cannot tell you what pain I feel when I see how much my mother is under my father's thumb...
7
green thumb: see green
to thumb your nose at someone: see nose
rule of thumb: see rulethumb through
[PHRASAL VERB] V P n
If you thumb through something such as a book or magazine, you turn the pages quickly rather than reading each page carefully.
He had the drawer open and was thumbing through the files.