thumbtack

[ thuhm-tak ]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

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

thumbtack

/ ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of thumbtack¹

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

Example Sentences

A gram of some fynbos plants’ root tissue – about the mass of a thumbtack – can stretch over 15 football field lengths of territory.

From Science News

The chart’s dense web of arrows and connections bore an unmistakable resemblance to an obsessive’s cork board covered with red string and thumbtacks.

From MIT Technology Review

A thumbtack is inserted in the standard near the top to prevent the box from being lifted entirely from the base.

From Project Gutenberg

Lay the stencil pattern in position and thumbtack it down to the cheese cloth and blotting paper.

From Project Gutenberg

If knives are used to cut out the design, thumbtack the leather before commencing.

From Project Gutenberg

The latter she suspended by a thumbtack beside the mirror of her bureau.

From Project Gutenberg

She took the miniature, thumbtack and all, from the wall, 183 and put it in her wrist bag.

From Project Gutenberg