How to Use thumb in a Sentence

thumb

1 of 2 noun
  • My mitten has a hole in the thumb.
  • I accidentally cut my thumb.
  • Meet the man with the gold thumb.
    — Chloe Sorvino, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
  • Cook gave a peace sign and a thumbs up.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 14 May 2026
  • Jumped up on him and just nicked his thumb.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
  • Have more of a brown thumb than a green one?
    — Quincy Bulin, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Have more of a brown thumb than a green thumb?
    — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Then turn it over and open it with your thumbs.
    — Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Her thumbs, the skin on her thumbs was rolled up.
    — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Perez is nursing a sore right thumb.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2026
  • My thumbs can only type so fast.
    — Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 27 Feb. 2026
  • One of the coaches stuck out his thumb.
    — Ryan Lenora Brown, NPR, 14 June 2026
  • Numbness in the wrist or thumb.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 6 May 2026
  • But some cast members stick out like sore thumbs.
    — Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 3 Sep. 2025
  • These bites are airy puffs about the size and width of an adult’s thumb.
    — Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2025
  • When his thumb raised, the students could speak.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Two thumbs up from your doctor, check, check.
    — Matt Fuchs, Time, 4 May 2026
  • His thumbs slide over her shoulders to give a quick rub.
    — Literary Hub, 25 June 2026
  • Fans walked out with their heads down, but there were more fans with thumbs up.
    — Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
  • The left thumb should point downward along the grip and shaft.
    — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The sleeves have a thumb hole to keep you warm on brisk mornings.
    — Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The one on her thumb freezes Greta.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The hypocrisy sticks out like a Sorsby thumb.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 10 June 2026
  • Stevens sticks out like a sore thumb in this price range as a value play.
    — Dennis Esser, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2026
  • Mehta showed her the image of a thumb-like print at the front of her leg.
    — Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Everyone in my house gave it a huge thumbs up.
    — Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Admirers of the shade sails gave them a thumbs up.
    — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2026
  • My thumb is sore from all the scrolling and refreshing.
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
  • Place the crease in your palm directly over your left thumb.
    — Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026
  • The man also complained of pain in his hands and thumbs.
    — Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2026

thumb

2 of 2 verb
  • I thumbed a ride to school.
  • He thumbed across the country.
  • He thumbed his way to New York.
  • Vonn thumbed her nose at the odds.
    — Frederick Dreier, Outside, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Some swindlers thumb their nose at both and keep their cons going.
    — Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Artists could even thumb their noses at their rivals on their home turf.
    — Amanda Dorenberg, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2022
  • Reach your right hand out, thumb up, in front of you as far as possible.
    — Spenser Mestel, Men's Health, 22 Sep. 2022
  • Turn your left hand over, thumb down, reach across your chest, and grab the back of the doorframe.
    — Kyle Norman, Outside Online, 30 Nov. 2021
  • What is the recourse when someone starts to thumb his nose in the face of the law that way?
    — David Friend, vanityfair.com, 27 Sep. 2017
  • Since then, several states have thumbed their nose at the order.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Since then, several states have thumbed their nose at the order.
    — Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Feldman, meanwhile, flashed a big smile and thumbs up to the camera.
    — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 23 Nov. 2025
  • Sure, that would have been nice, and nobody would thumb their nose at a million dollars.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Tina Turner, tickled, rose to her feet and shot her protégé two thumbs up.
    — Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2023
  • But when Nelson wanted to evolve from there, those people thumbed their noses at him.
    — Joseph N. Distefano, Philly.com, 14 May 2018
  • Long-press a message to give it a quick thumbs up, thumbs down, heart, or other reaction.
    — Kegan Mooney, PCMAG, 8 Sep. 2023
  • In one strip early on, Sam thumbs through a phone book looking for a new artist and writer.
    — Cullen Murphy, Vanities, 9 Aug. 2017
  • All had out-of-town landlords who thumbed their noses at codes meant to keep their properties safe and secure.
    — Ronnie Polaneczky, Philly.com, 10 May 2018
  • Also, an amazing quote and not afraid to thumb his nose at authority.
    — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 26 May 2022
  • People in the local office garb of slacks and zip vests brushed past, thumbing their smartphones.
    — Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023
  • Rock has always been about adolescent rage, thumbing noses at taboos and breaking stuff.
    — John Adamian, courant.com, 28 June 2019
  • The brain dead multiplied, and are out there thumbing their noses at the law as well as the social contract.
    — Chuck Plunkett, The Denver Post, 28 Jan. 2017
  • These people who thumb their noses at our way of life are the ones who give the other lovely newcomers a bad name.
    — Leslie Anne Tarabella, al, 11 Sep. 2019
  • But the candidates have thumbed their noses at all this effort by putting so much emphasis on tax cuts for the well-off.
    — The Economist, 13 June 2019
  • By the time the future comes around to thumb its nose at you, no one will be paying enough attention to hold you to account.
    — Laura Miller, Slate Magazine, 25 May 2017
  • Caleb Foster thumbed over his shoulder to move Cam Boozer.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2026
  • Instead of driving it away, King thumbed his nose at the neighbors and moved it into his front driveway.
    — Kansas City Star, 3 Feb. 2026
  • Red playfully thumbs his nose at the van, which Ressler takes personally.
    — Tanya Melendez, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2023
  • Retailers are getting a helping hand from the state, which has effectively thumbed its note at the feds.
    — Gary Robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, 18 Dec. 2017
  • The city essentially thumbed its nose at the move, and by doing so dissed the charter the city normally abides by.
    — Rubén Rosario, Twin Cities, 20 Aug. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thumb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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