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• thumbs-up
  thumbs-up

  noun

  an act, instance, or gesture of assent, approval, or the like.
• thumbs up
  thumbs up

  Expressions of approval and disapproval respectively: “The two critics disagreed about the movie; one gave it thumbs up, the other thumbs down.” In the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome, a thumbs-up gesture from the crowd meant that the loser would live; thumbs down meant death.

thumbs-up

American  

[thuhmz-uhp] / ˈθʌmzˈʌp /

noun

Informal.

• thumbs-ups
  plural

1. an act, instance, or gesture of assent, approval, or the like.

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thumbs up Cultural  

1. Expressions of approval and disapproval respectively: “The two critics disagreed about the movie; one gave it thumbs up, the other thumbs down.” In the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome, a thumbs-up gesture from the crowd meant that the loser would live; thumbs down meant death.

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thumbs up Idioms  

1. An expression of approval or hopefulness, as in The town said thumbs up on building the elderly housing project. The antonym thumbs down indicates disapproval or rejection, as in Mother gave us thumbs down on serving beer at our party. Alluding to crowd signals used in Roman amphitheaters, these idioms were first recorded in English about 1600. In ancient times the meaning of the gestures was opposite that of today. Thumbs down indicated approval; thumbs up, rejection. Exactly when the reversal occurred is not known, but the present conventions were established by the early 1900s.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thumbs-ups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thumbs-up

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thumbs-up thumbs up thumbs-ups

He entered the courtroom with a smile and a thumbs-up to the cameras but exploded with anger at the verdicts.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Earlier this year, SpaceX’s request for a smaller expansion was given the thumbs-up.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

“I get more thumbs-up than with any other car that I’ve had in my entire life.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Some stopped him for pictures as he beamed down the camera and flashed a thumbs-up.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Benny didn’t say anything, but he gave me a thumbs-up.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

A 10-second video of the press yelling at McConnell to speak or give a thumbs up — with seemingly zero response from the senator — has gone viral.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

After the hearing, Hill smiled to journalists and gave thumbs up.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026

She gives me a thumbs up, and with a kiss and a warm hug, we say goodbye.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

But in the video itself, the signs on Croydon's North End are in English, the cyclist has no balaclava and Caz is giving him the thumbs up after a friendly chat.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026

I give her a smile, two thumbs up, and one raised eyebrow.

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

I get thumbs-ups from Mustang drivers and cool head nods from Challenger owners.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

Along with 31 thumbs-ups, eight angry faces and several other emojis, the post got 24 comments.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2025

Zoom has a tendency to read “I’m scratching my face” as “I’m raising my hand,” and at least in my experience only responds to the most aggressive of thumbs-ups.

From The Verge ● Apr. 20, 2022

When the jurors were discharged and Guzman stood to leave the courtroom, the couple traded thumbs-ups.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2019

He signaled to his tent and then to himself and gave the helicopter a series of frantic thumbs-ups and a-okay signals.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers