thumb

thumb

I

thumb¹ /θʌm/ noun [countable]
1. the part of your hand that is shaped like a thick short finger and helps you to hold things:
    a baby sucking its thumb
    She held the coin carefully between finger and thumb.
2. the part of a glove that fits over your thumb
3. be all fingers and thumbs British English, be all thumbs American English informal to be unable to do something in which you have to make small careful movements with your fingers:
    Would you do up these buttons for me? I seem to be all thumbs today.
4. the thumbs up/down informal when an idea or plan is officially accepted or not accepted:
    The project was finally given the thumbs up.
    Her performance got the thumbs down from the critics.
5. be under sb’s thumb to be so strongly influenced by someone that they control you completely:
    He was still under his father’s thumb.
⇨ rule of thumb at rule¹(8), ⇨ stand/stick out like a sore thumb at sore¹(6)

II

thumb² verb
1. thumb a lift British English, thumb a ride American English informal to persuade a driver of a passing car to stop and take you somewhere, by putting your hand out with your thumb raised:
    I thumbed a lift into town.
2. thumb your nose at somebody/something to show that you do not respect rules, laws etc or you do not care what someone thinks of you:
    a chance to thumb his nose at the college authorities
     
thumb through something phrasal verb
  to look through a book, magazine etc quickly:
    I began thumbing through the pages of a gardening catalogue.