to thumb

Examples

• All

• So, I dropped her off in Virginia and thumbed it back to Pawtucket.

  Outside Providence (1999)

• She stood at the corner, hoping to thumb a ride from anyone heading in her direction.

• Wherever we are, let's land and thumb a ride.

  Horror Island (1941)

• I have been trying to thumb a ride down to "Titanic" for probably 10 years now.

  Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

• Jackie, I've been thumbing for two and a half hours.

  Outside Providence (1999)

• A half-hour earlier, I'd thumbed a ride.

  The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

• We didn't feel like riding anymore, so we let the few cars that came by go without thumbing.

  Academic text (2009)

• Short of it is and I've been thumbing my way back from Tulsa.

  Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013)

• Thumbing rides may save your busfare, but it’s dangerous.

  Detour (1945)

• After missing the bus, I decided to thumb my way back home by standing on the roadside with my thumb out.

Synonyms

H

to hitch

vsto thumb

• Informal

49 3.9

To travel by getting rides from passing drivers

emphasizes a specific held-up finger signal instead of general roadside gestures

H

to hitchhike

vsto thumb

• Informal

48 3.9

Travel by getting free rides from passing cars

focuses on using a held-up finger signal rather than any general gesture

T

to thumb a ride

vsto thumb

• Archaic

1 8.2

To get a free ride from a passing car by standing by the road and showing your thumb

is the single-word verb form for the same action in speech

Idioms

T

to thumb one's nose at

• Informal

8 9.2

To show open disrespect by refusing to follow rules or customs

T

thumb on the scale

• Informal

1 8.5

To make a process unfair to give someone an advantage

Phrasal Verbs

T

to thumb a ride

• Archaic

1 8.2

To get a free ride from a passing car by standing by the road and showing your thumb

Compounds

R

rule of thumb

• Informal

31 3.8

A simple practical way to do or decide things from experience that is not exact

G

green thumb

• Informal

8 3.6

A natural ability to make plants grow well

B

brown thumb

• Informal

1 7.9

A person who cannot grow plants successfully

B

butcher's thumb

• Jargon

9.9

A way to check how soft meat is by pressing it with the thumb

B

butcher's thumb technique

• Jargon

9.4

A skill butchers use with their thumb to make precise cuts

E

e-thumb

• Texting

7.7

An online click that shows you like or support a post

M

miller's-thumb

9.9

A small freshwater fish with a broad flat head that lives among stones in fast streams

M

Mother Thumb

• Baby Talk

8.6

A small nursery rhyme character a child shows on their thumb to teach finger names

M

Mother Thumb and her four daughters

• Baby Talk

9.9

A simple game for children using the thumb and four fingers to help them move well

H

hop-o'-my-thumb

• Literature

9.9

A very small clever boy in a fairy tale who solves problems

T

thumb index

• Specialized

7.2

Small cuts in a book edge that help you open to chapters

T

Tom Thumb

9.3

A very small person used as a playful name

Surface Forms

Etymology