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Glite Dictionary
thumbnut

thumbnut

1 9.2
A small nut with ridged wings you can turn by hand
  • noun
  • /ˈθʌmˌnʌt/
: tuerca mariposa
  • The lamp was secured by a single thumbnut at the base.

Examples

  • He tightened the thumbnut to hold the bracket in place.

  • He tightened the thumbnut by hand.

  • You can easily remove the panel by loosening the thumbnuts with your fingers.

  • The thumbnuts are easy to grip.

  • The photographer tightened the camera lens using a small thumbnut that could be easily turned by hand.

  • To secure the table legs, we used thumbnuts that allowed for quick adjustments without the need for tools.

  • The assembly required several thumbnuts to fasten the panels together tightly, making it simple to disassemble later.

Synonyms

nut
vsthumbnut
52 4.4

A small metal piece with a screw hole that fits on a bolt

is shaped for easy hand turning using wings or ridges rather than a tool
wing nut
vsthumbnut
  • Specialized
2 2.8

A small metal piece with two flat wings you turn by hand

is smaller and uses winglike or ridged projections for easy hand turning
wing-nut
vsthumbnut
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A metal nut with two flat wings for tightening by hand

may instead feature ridged projections for turning by hand
butterfly nut
vsthumbnut
  • UK
1 6.1

A metal piece with two flat wings you turn by hand to hold things together

uses ridged or other projections instead of only flat wings

Surface Forms

thumbnut singular
thumbnuts plural

Morphology

thumbnut = thumb + nut (transparent) = thumb + nut

The word is a straightforward compound whose meaning ('a nut designed to be turned by the thumb') directly follows from 'thumb' + 'nut'.

Etymology

The word thumbnut comes from the parts thumb and nut and literally means a 'nut' you can turn with your 'thumb'. So it names a small fastener with ridges or winglike parts that you can tighten or loosen by hand without tools.