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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

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

IGN's Rebekah Valentine also gave a thumbs-up to the main character, arguably one the more obscure Pokémon - "I love this little weirdo!" she wrote in her nine out of 10 review.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026

Margarita Aaron, the actor’s wife, told Fox News and TMZ on Monday that her husband is “making significant progress” in his recovery, making minor body movements including opening his eyes and giving a thumbs-up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026

Siobhan saw Chip flash Reggie a thumbs-up the next time he glanced in the stands, but Reggie just snorted and went back to trading serves.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

While being couriered to the airport, some British passengers - clad in blue PPE - waved and gave thumbs up as they drove past the assembled media.

From BBC ● May 10, 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

She flashed two thumbs up to her coaching team before dropping in.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

“Why in the world would we give a seal of approval or a thumbs up to make you the largest behemoth on the planet related to content?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

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

Thorn gave her two thumbs-ups and said it so cheerfully, Seven knew she meant it sincerely.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega