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to finger

to finger

5 7.6
To show which fingers to use when playing music
  • verb
  • /ˈfɪŋɡər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : indicar la digitación
  • Fixed systems allow students to label music in a notational format, like fingering notes on an instrument.
  • finger the notes

Examples

  • The music teacher started teaching the students to finger notes and recognize the corresponding written notes.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Many chords are surprisingly easy to finger, resulting in rapid success for the student.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Today will be their first time playing these fingered notes, using both hands at the same time.

    Academic text (2006)
  • "Mom definitely needs a break," agreed Jeddie, fingering the keyboard.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Because she was a clarinetist, she was accustomed to reading and fingering one note at a time.

    Academic text (1998)
  • More fingering mistakes, more missed attacks, and more inconsistent rhythms ensued, but Nick ignored them all.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In instrumental performance classes, students continually reinforce their music-reading skills by fingering valves, keys, or strings, or striking tone bars.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The music teacher showed the students how to finger the C major chord on the piano.

  • During the lesson, the professor explained how to finger the notes for the upcoming performance.

  • He practiced daily to learn how to finger the complex passages in the sheet music.

Idioms

to lift a finger
  • Informal
27 5.1

To make no effort to help

4 6.3

Being ready to act quickly when a chance or danger appears

To make someone do what you want by charming them

1 8.6

Having a very strong taste that makes you want to eat every last bit

1 8.7

To check what people think before you decide

9.9

A sudden change that breaks your plans, often causing trouble

7.2

To have a part in something and some control

to get the finger
  • Offensive
9.7

Receive a rude hand gesture when someone raises their middle finger

To take part in many different activities at once

To start working hard after not doing much

To start trying much harder after being lazy

8.3

To show anger or insult someone by lifting the middle finger

Phrasal Verbs

Find the exact reason for something hard to explain

To put paint on paper using your fingers

To move your finger side to side to show you are not pleased

To start working or trying harder after putting things off

Compounds

32 1.0

A finger next to the thumb used for pointing or pressing

finger-pointing
  • Informal
18 4.6

Blaming other people for a problem instead of trying to fix it

13 1.0

The smallest finger on the hand that is farthest from the thumb

10 1.0

The finger between the middle finger and little finger where people often wear wedding rings

7 1.8

Food that you eat with your fingers

The finger between the index and ring fingers on the hand

middle finger
  • Offensive
7 5.0

A rude hand sign made by raising the finger in the middle to insult someone

2 1.0

A long thin piece of fish covered in breadcrumbs and fried or baked

finger bowl
  • Archaic
2 7.0

A small bowl of water for rinsing fingers between courses

sticky-finger
  • Offensive
2 9.9

A person who often steals small things

finger paint
  • Baby Talk
1 1.8

A soft colored paste children use with their fingers to make pictures

An act of stealing small items from a shop, often said as a joke

fat finger
  • Jargon
1 7.9

A mistake you make by pressing the wrong key or button

A pair of small metal discs worn on the fingers and tapped to make a bright ring used in dance

1 2.8

A hole for a finger that helps you hold or move something

1 3.7

A region of long narrow lakes in central New York that run north to south

finger-roll
  • Jargon
1 7.2

A basketball shot made near the basket by rolling the ball off the fingertips

1 8.4

A strong urge to act quickly without thinking

6.6

Hand signs that show the letters of the alphabet for people who are deaf

A small hand tool for making tiny holes in material like jewelry

finger grass
  • Specialized
8.0

A common grass that often grows as a weed in fields and lawns

finger hole
  • Specialized
4.8

A hole on a wind instrument like a flute covered or uncovered by your finger to change the note

finger millet
  • Indian
7.0

A cereal plant from Asia and Africa with small seeds used to make flour

finger-flower
  • Archaic
9.9

A tall plant with large pink-purple tube flowers whose leaves are poisonous but make heart medicine

6.3

A flat plate on a door that protects the paint from finger marks

finger scan
  • Specialized
3.5

A way to identify a person by using a machine that reads the patterns on their fingertip

finger scanning
  • Specialized
3.8

To use a person's fingerprints to check who they are

A way to show each letter of the alphabet using hand signs

A small greeting or goodbye made by moving the fingers

A way of painting using fingers to spread paint or a picture done that way

A plant with a five-petaled flower that people use in home herbal remedies

A simple practice using all five fingers to improve their speed and control

4.2

A vegetable plant that makes long green pods used in soups and stews, also called okra

A grass from Europe grown for hay and often a weed in fields

A hand signal made by raising three fingers to show protest or support

A long thin delicate finger that looks like a spider's leg

How Specific

to finger
  • Specialized
5 7.6
to notate
2 7.4
label
187 1.0
to indicate
318 2.7

Surface Forms

finger infinitive
fingered past
fingered past participle
fingering present participle
fingers third person singular

Etymology

Finger in music means to mark or choose which fingers to use when playing, and it comes from the same word for the hand part because playing is done with your fingers.