middle finger
Americannoun
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the finger between the forefinger and the third finger.
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Slang. an obscene gesture of contempt made by pointing this finger upward while folding the other fingers against the palm; the finger.
The driver honked his horn and got the middle finger from the biker.
Usage
What else does middle finger mean? Giving someone the middle finger is an offensive gesture in which a person flips up their middle finger in a fist to show contempt or defiance.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of middle finger
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English
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.
Slate music critic Carl Wilson argues that the singer’s new album is a middle finger to the expectations of being an “It Girl.”
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
Ohtani has been dealing with a small blister on the middle finger of his right hand for his last couple starts, Roberts said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
"The key to the wobble seam is to have your fingers and wrist right behind the ball and release the ball off your middle finger," Gillespie says.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026
In 15 states and two provinces, we had no close calls, no one pulling behind and honking angrily, no one passing dangerously close and yelling “Get off the road,” not a single middle finger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
She had a large amber ring on her middle finger.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
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.
