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Synonyms

not lift a finger

Idioms  

  1. Refuse to exert oneself to help or perform an action. For example, Dad won't lift a finger to help them financially, or Early in the war, America officially would not lift a finger. [Mid-1900s]

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.

But the Mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, could not lift a finger to help the city he was first elected to run in 2019.

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025

There were several people who did not lift a finger and blew off their work shifts, forcing other campers to step up and keep things running.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2024

Pechman pointed out that the officers’ lawyers, while waiting on an appeal, “did not lift a finger to engage in discovery” in the months the appeal was pending.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 3, 2022

To cite one example from the second quarter report, we would hope that Mr. Neal would not lift a finger to help tobacco company Altria Group, which contributed the maximum $10,000.

From Washington Times • Jul. 24, 2020

I think that Opechancanough would not lift a finger to save me from all the deaths the tribes could invent.”

From The Literary World Seventh Reader by Metcalf, John Calvin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.