thumb
Other forms: thumbs; thumbed; thumbing
Your thumb is the fifth digit on your hand, the one that doesn't quite match your fingers. Thumbs help us grip objects with care and precision — it would be difficult to hold chopsticks without a thumb.
Humans are more dextrous than our closest primate relatives because of our nimble thumbs. They're opposable, so we can move them forward and touch them to our fingers. Some monkeys share this trait, and they're the best able to use primitive tools. Your thumbs make it possible for you to brush your teeth, write with a pen, and snap. You can also thumb through the pages of a book — in other words, turn each page with your thumb.
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the thick short innermost digit of the forelimb
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the part of a glove that provides a covering for the thumbtype of:coveringan artifact that covers something else (usually to protect or shelter or conceal it)
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look through a book or other written material
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feel or handle with the fingers
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travel by getting free rides from motorists
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a convex molding having a cross section in the form of a quarter of a circle or of an ellipsesynonyms: ovolo, quarter round
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Vocabulary lists containing thumb
In this final chapter of his memoir trilogy, Rex is forced out of his family home by his father and travels to New Orleans, trying to find somewhere he belongs.