• IPA: /θʌm/

thumb (plural thumbs)

1. The short thick 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.
2. (computing) The part of a slider that may be moved linearly along the slider.
3. (colloquial, Internet) A thumbnail picture.
   • 2001, "Gary", Wanna See Porn? Take a Look At These (Free Expandable Thumbs) - CLICK HERE (on newsgroup alt.sex.services)

• (digit) pollex, digit I, first digit (anatomy) ; thumby (colloquial)

• French: pouce
• German: Daumen
• Italian: pollice, dito grosso
• Portuguese: dedo polegar, polegar
• Russian: большо́й па́лец
• Spanish: pulgar

thumb (thumbs, present participle thumbing; past and past participle thumbed)

1. (transitive) To touch or cover with the thumb.

   to thumb the touch-hole of a cannon

2. (transitive, with through) 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.

3. (travel) To hitchhike

   So I started thumbin' back east, toward my hometown.

4. To soil or wear with the thumb or the fingers; to soil, or wear out, by frequent handling.
   • 18, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 13, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify ), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323 ↗:

5. To manipulate (an object) with the thumb; especially, to pull back the hammer or open the cylinder of a revolver.
6. To fire (a single action revolver) quickly by pulling the hammer while keeping the trigger depressed.
   • 2011, by Hans-Christian Vortisch, GURPS Tactical Shooting, pg 14

     To thumb a single-action revolver, hold down the trigger and use the thumb on the same hand to fire the gun by manipulating the hammer.

• (to turn pages) browse, leaf, page, peruse

• (firing a single action revolver via hammer flicks while trigger is held down) fanning (using opposite hand instead of thumb)

• Russian: мусо́лить

• French: feuilleter
• German: durchblättern
• Russian: листа́ть