thumbtack

American  

[thuhm-tak] / ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

• thumbtacks
  plural

1. a tack with a large, flat head, designed to be thrust into a board or other fairly soft object or surface by the pressure of the thumb.

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verb (used with object)

1. to attach or tack by means of a thumbtack.

thumbtack British  

/ ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

1. Also called (esp in Britain): drawing pin. a short tack with a broad smooth head for fastening papers to a drawing board, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thumbtacks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of thumbtack

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; thumb + tack ¹

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Compare meaning

How does thumbtack compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• thumbtack vs. pushpin

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thumbtack thumbtacks

You’ll also need scissors, white paper, tape, aluminum foil and a pin or thumbtack.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

The methyl group acts like a tiny thumbtack set out on the seat the antibiotic was hoping to take, Polikanov said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

Broadcaster TVE showed a thumbtack that its reporter on a motorbike found on the course.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

“Honey! Did you see the picture of Angie’s labradoodle?” she might ask as I walked into her small white room to thumbtack another family photo to the otherwise bare walls.

From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2023

I poked the thumbtack into the top of Momma’s picture and walked to the wall that she’d stuck all the pictures of horses on.

From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Both defending champion Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quickstep and two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard had punctures, according to their teams, although neither specified if they were caused by thumbtacks.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

These metatheatrical maneuvers at the beginning and end of “Ava” seem as if they were added last minute with thumbtacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2023

While we are on ravioli, even if they are stuffed with thumbtacks and rusty pennies, they are better than spaghetti.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2023

If Run the Jewels are the polemicist poets facing America’s racial reckoning with six-foot-high spray-painted lettering, Clipping’s members are the academics connecting the horrors of the country’s past with thumbtacks and string.

From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2020

They stuffed this around the doorjamb and fixed it over the knotholes with thumbtacks borrowed from the Fujitas.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

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