thumb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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A Mediterranean summer on fire has become a genre now, a seasonal rerun we thumb past on the way to something else.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Agencies cannot put a thumb on the scale by taking account of a rule’s costs but not its benefits, particularly when there are established techniques for valuing the benefits.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2026
If Yale had been treated like an individual investor, Ang’s rule of thumb suggests that Swensen’s epic return would have been slashed to about 8.7% annually after tax.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The rule of thumb for refinancing is generally that the new mortgage rate should be at least 75 basis points lower.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Tano raises his hand, stretches his thumb, and reaches for my head.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
You cannot apply logic to his work — every choice thumbs its nose at the real world — and I rarely like the overall result.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Footage showed Pollock goading fans from the upper windows, giving them a thumbs down, sticking out his tongue and waving and shushing.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
On Tuesday afternoon, Harry smiled and gave a thumbs up to crowds as he stepped into his car following an Invictus Games event.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
How have they built entire cities and extensive infrastructure with no thumbs?
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
Mick cupped her hands, clamped them tight together, and blew through the crack between her thumbs.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
He has largely thumbed his nose at them over the Epstein files.
From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2026
In October, I thumbed through snapshots my mother had stashed in albums, envelopes and shoeboxes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
While other kids were popping CDs into their center consoles, Dudelson thumbed through bins of one-dollar records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2025
Guests thumbed through the order of service, which one Muslim guest in the pews said was “very helpful” for navigating the Christian ceremony.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 3, 2024
However, just for the heck of it, he wiggled his bent Sidney's out of his coat pocket, thumbed to ostrich comma male-female, old-young, sick-well, mint-used, and inspected the prices.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
If you are thumbing through the brochure/paperwork, it will be there in black and white.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026
And arm yourself with simple pantry staples that you can graze on lazily, ideally while peeling a clementine and thumbing a paperback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
Gone are the days of flavoring your morning coffee with a bit of ink, accidentally dipping the corner of the newsprint into a mug while thumbing through the pages.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2025
He points out that engineers are no different from the rest of us when it comes to thumbing through a manual.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2024
The man was thumbing through a motorcycle magazine, but I assumed he was listening to every word we said.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
Vocabulary lists containing thumb
Road Home
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Lesson 16
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