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to finger

to finger

1 9.1
To use a computer command to check when someone last logged in
  • verb
  • /ˈfɪŋɡər/
  • Archaic
: consultar
  • To find out more about the user, simply finger their username on the terminal.

Examples

  • If you want to verify their online status, you need to finger them in the system.

  • What I'm trying to achieve is something called the finger search property.

  • For example, Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have fingered shifting cultivation as the source of much of the environmental degradation in eastern Sundaland.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Here, the task force had fingered (using the Urdu spelling) the central clearinghouse for al-Qaeda in its early years: Maktab al-Khidamat.

    Academic text (2011)
  • A Scotland Yard inquiry fingered Nicolas Biwott, a prominent politician and Moi confidant, as complicit in the plot.

    Academic text (1992)
  • You can finger a user to check their current login status on the network.

Idioms

to lift a finger
  • Informal
19 5.1

To make no effort to help

7 6.3

Being ready to act quickly when a chance or danger appears

1 8.7

To check what people think before you decide

1 9.9

A sudden change that breaks your plans, often causing trouble

1 8.6

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

1 7.2

To have a part in something and some control

to get the finger
  • Offensive
1 9.7

Receive a rude hand gesture when someone raises their middle finger

1 8.3

To show anger or insult someone by lifting the 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

To make someone do what you want by charming them

Phrasal Verbs

To put paint on paper using your fingers

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

Find the exact reason for something hard to explain

To start working or trying harder after putting things off

Compounds

40 1.0

A finger next to the thumb used for pointing or pressing

finger-pointing
  • Informal
32 4.6

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

17 1.0

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

middle finger
  • Offensive
13 5.0

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

9 1.8

Food that you eat with your fingers

The finger between the index and ring fingers on the hand

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

3 3.7

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

finger paint
  • Baby Talk
3 1.8

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

finger bowl
  • Archaic
3 7.0

A small bowl of water for rinsing fingers between courses

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

sticky-finger
  • Offensive
2 9.9

A person who often steals small things

2 1.0

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

2 8.4

A strong urge to act quickly without thinking

1 6.6

A small greeting or goodbye made by moving the fingers

1 2.8

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

fat finger
  • Jargon
1 7.9

A mistake you make by pressing the wrong key or button

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

1 1.0

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

1 8.1

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

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

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

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

finger scan
  • Specialized
1 3.5

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

finger-roll
  • Jargon
1 7.2

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

1 6.6

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

finger grass
  • Specialized
1 8.0

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

finger millet
  • Indian
1 7.0

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

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

1 7.7

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

finger scanning
  • Specialized
1 3.8

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

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-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

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

How Detailed

to inspect
183 2.5
query
  • Specialized
37 4.4
to finger
  • Archaic
1 9.1
check
823 1.0
to ping
  • Specialized
18 4.1

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Finger in computing comes from the name of a computer tool that let people look up a user's details, so to 'finger' someone is to check their account or login information on a system.