thumb
Example Sentences
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"In Spain, they really appreciate my IQ and quality because at Barca, if you're not technical, if you're not smart, you're going to stand out like a sore thumb."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Even after recognizing other financial benefits of ownership, such as a tax code that puts a thumb on the scale toward buying, opportunity cost makes the returns to homeownership considerably less spectacular.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Hopeful return: Third baseman Nolan Arenado suffered an injury to his left thumb Tuesday, the same injury he sustained in late August.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
When it comes to shopping for accounts, however, there are good rules of thumb.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Only Christopher saw Nighthand glance down at his left hand, and touch his right thumb to the palm, before he began to climb.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Now she got her thumbs underneath the tape.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Hispanics gave them the thumbs down, 69% to 31%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
How have they built entire cities and extensive infrastructure with no thumbs?
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
While being couriered to the airport, some British passengers - clad in blue PPE - waved and gave thumbs up as they drove past the assembled media.
From BBC ● May 10, 2026
Mama hesitated, then all of a sudden smiled and, clasping her hands together, raised them and touched her thumbs to her forehead—a way she had of showing when she was happy.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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
Most do not put their content online; this is journalism meant to be thumbed through, not swiped past.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2024
Even though my confidence had been shaken by what I had seen and experienced, there were times when I disobeyed the rules and thumbed my nose at the Nazis.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
“Huge worlds are in, you know, those two blocks. Huge,” he said while thumbing through sepia-toned family photos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The speed of that reversal makes it tempting to see the latest ruling as a district judge thumbing her nose at the high court.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
It meant there were five changes in all from the matchday squad announced on Monday and surely would have had the New Zealand management thumbing through the regulations of the tour agreement.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
If you are thumbing through the brochure/paperwork, it will be there in black and white.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 24, 2026
She squints her eyes at me for a second before smiling and thumbing through her boyfriend’s wallet for a twenty.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Vocabulary lists containing thumb
Road Home
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Lesson 16
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