thimble

[ thim-buhl ]

noun
  1. a small cap, usually of metal, worn over the fingertip to protect it when pushing a needle through cloth in sewing.

  2. Mechanics. any of various similar devices or attachments.

  1. Nautical. a metal ring with a concave groove on the outside, used to line the outside of a ring of rope forming an eye.

  2. a sleeve of sheet metal passing through the wall of a chimney, for holding the end of a stovepipe or the like.

  3. a thimble-shaped printing element with raised characters on the exterior: used in a type of electronic typewriter or computer printer (thimble printer ).

Origin of thimble

1
before 1000; Middle English thym(b)yl,Old English thȳmel; akin to Old Norse thumall thumb of a glove. See thumb, -le

Other words from thimble

  • thim·ble·like, adjective

Words Nearby thimble

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use thimble in a sentence

  • You didnt think that your gold thimble would make pretty things for Dr. Lakes wife, did you?

    Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater
  • However, no wonder, as you had never heard of the thimble and pea game, but I will tell you.

    Lavengro | George Borrow
  • The son Peter was admitted as a master in the thimble trade in 1527.

  • "I can make it any size I please, from a thimble to a sentry-box," said the Goblin.

    Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. Carryl
  • The thimble denoted a thrifty housewife; the button, a life of single blessedness; and the nutmeg, a good cook.

    Marjorie's Busy Days | Carolyn Wells

British Dictionary definitions for thimble

thimble

/ (ˈθɪmbəl) /


noun
  1. a cap of metal, plastic, etc, used to protect the end of the finger when sewing

  2. any small metal cap resembling this

  1. nautical a loop of metal having a groove at its outer edge for a rope or cable, for lining the inside of an eye

  2. short for thimbleful

Origin of thimble

1
Old English thӯmel thumbstall, from thūma thumb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012