at your fingertips
- idiom
- Informal
:
al alcance de la mano
- In today's digital age, tools for effective communication are always at your fingertips.
Examples
-
The new app puts an entire library of resources at your fingertips, making research easy and fast.
-
If anyone in this country needs a specialist, a data bank at your fingertips gives you a range of choices based on cost, reputation, and outcome patterns.
Fiction book (1996) -
With the internet, information is now at your fingertips, allowing you to learn anything quickly.
Synonyms
205
1.0
Useful and easy to use when you need it
106
1.0
Close by and easy to reach when you need it
81
2.1
Ready to use or help when needed
1
3.4
You can reach and use it right away
1
3.5
Available for someone to use when they need it
1
3.7
Available for someone to use when they need it
Antonyms
How Accessible
- Informal
106
1.0
280
3.9
∞
1.6
38
4.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'easily available' is motivated by the literal image of something being physically at the tip of your finger, so a learner who knows 'at', 'your' and 'fingertip' will get a strong cue of closeness and immediate access. However, the sense is a metaphorical extension from spatial proximity to availability, so the figurative mapping may not be fully predictable for an average B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
At your fingertips comes from the idea that your fingertips reach things first, so they are the easiest part of the body to use. That's why if something is at your fingertips, it is 'easily available' whenever you need it.