Synonyms for thumb

Most common

page · browse · peruse · flip · riff

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

Noun

Definitions

1. v. 1

   To turn the pages of (a book) in order to read it cursorily.

   I thumbed through the book and decided not to bother reading it all.

2. v. 2

   To touch or cover with the thumb.

   to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon

3. v. 3

   To gesture with the thumb, for example when flagging a ride.

4. n. 1

   The shortest and thickest digit of the hand that for humans has the most mobility and can be made to oppose (moved to touch) all of the other fingers.

Related words

Word family

thumb-a-war thumbnail thumbnut thumb-sketch thumbstick thumbtack

Phrases

thumb war thumb piano lady's thumb thumb a lift thumb a ride thumb drive rule-of-thumb gamekeeper's thumb

Is a kind of

digit finger

Forms

Plural

thumbs → pollices, ovolos, thumbies…

Past participle

thumbed
e.g. thumbed → leafed, paged, perused, browsed…

Example sentences

• page This page is not nicely printed so print it again.
• browse When I browse the web, I read a lot of webpages.
• peruse I didn't have time to peruse the article.
• flip Yanni was hired to just moronically flip burgers.
• riff You've had enough of this riff-raff? Well, we'll help you get rid of it.

Popularity over time

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters

page¹, leaf¹, flip¹, riff¹

5 letters

flick¹, hitch¹, ovolo

6 letters

finger², browse¹, peruse², riffle², pollex, thumby

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (finger² = 2 syllables).