finger
Americannoun
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any of the terminal members of the hand, especially one other than the thumb.
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a part of a glove made to receive a finger.
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Zoology. a projection at the tip of an elephant’s trunk that facilitates dexterity essential for grasping.
If there are two fingers, it must be an African elephant, as the Asian elephant has only one.
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the breadth of a finger as a unit of measurement; digit.
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the length of a finger: approximately 4½ inches (11 centimeters).
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Slang. an informer or spy.
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something like a finger in form or use, as a projection or pointer.
a finger of land leading out into the bay;
the finger on the speedometer.
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any of various projecting parts of machines.
verb (used with object)
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to touch with the fingers; toy or meddle with; handle.
I couldn't refrain from fingering the beautiful silk scarves.
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to touch with the fingers so as to mar or spoil.
Please don't finger the vegetables.
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Music.
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to play on (an instrument) with the fingers.
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to perform or mark (a passage of music) with a certain fingering.
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Slang.
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to inform against or identify (a criminal) to the authorities.
He fingered the man who robbed the bank.
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to designate as a victim, as of murder or other crime.
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Slang: Vulgar. to stimulate (the vagina or anus) for sexual gratification by penetration with one or more fingers.
verb (used without object)
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to touch or handle something with the fingers.
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to extend in or as in the shape of a finger.
Landing piers finger out into the river along the city's shoreline.
idioms
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give (someone) the finger, to express contempt for (someone) by or as if by making the obscene gesture of pointing the middle finger upward while folding the other fingers against the palm and turning the back of the hand outward: Also flip (someone) the bird
Someone gave me the finger for driving too slow.
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have a finger in the pie,
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to have an interest or share in something.
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to meddle in something.
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burn one's fingers, to suffer injury or loss by meddling or by acting rashly.
If you get involved in the controversy, you may burn your fingers.
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snap one's fingers (at), to exhibit disdain or contempt (for).
She snaps her fingers at the local gossip.
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slip through one's fingers,
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to elude one, as an opportunity not taken; escape.
She let the chance of a lifetime slip through her fingers.
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to pass or be consumed quickly.
Money just slips through his fingers.
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keep one's fingers crossed, to wish for good luck or success, as in a specific endeavor.
Keep your fingers crossed that I get the job.
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twist / wrap around one's little finger, to exert one's influence easily or successfully upon.
He has a remarkable talent for twisting people around his little finger.
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lay / put one's finger on,
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put the finger on, finger.
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not lift a finger, to make not even a small attempt; do nothing.
The house was falling into ruin, but he wouldn't lift a finger to repair it.
noun
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Technical name: digitus manus. any of the digits of the hand, often excluding the thumb
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( as modifier )
a finger bowl
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( in combination )
a fingernail
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the part of a glove made to cover a finger
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something that resembles a finger in shape or function
a finger of land
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Also called: digit. the length or width of a finger used as a unit of measurement
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a quantity of liquid in a glass, etc, as deep as a finger is wide; tot
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a projecting machine part, esp one serving as an indicator, guide, or guard
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to suffer from having meddled or been rash
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informal to begin or speed up activity, esp after initial delay or slackness
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to have an interest in or take part in some activity
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to meddle or interfere
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(usually negative) to harm
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to indicate, identify, or locate accurately
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to allow to escape; miss narrowly
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(foll by an infinitive) not to make any effort (to do something)
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to accuse or blame
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informal
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to inform on or identify, esp for the police
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to choose (the victim or location of an intended crime)
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to have easy and complete control or influence over
verb
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(tr) to touch or manipulate with the fingers; handle
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informal (tr) to identify as a criminal or suspect
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(intr) to extend like a finger
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to use one's fingers in playing (an instrument, such as a piano or clarinet)
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to indicate on (a composition or part) the fingering required by a pianist, harpsichordist, etc
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(tr; usually passive) to arrange the keys of (a clarinet, flute, etc) for playing in a certain way
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fingersimple
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fingerssimple
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have fingeredperfect
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has fingeredperfect
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am fingeringprogressive
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are fingeringprogressive
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is fingeringprogressive
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have been fingeringperfect progressive
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has been fingeringperfect progressive
Past
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fingeredsimple
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had fingeredperfect
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was fingeringprogressive
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were fingeringprogressive
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had been fingeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of finger
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Finger, Dutch vinger, Old Norse fingr, Gothic figgrs
Explanation
Your fingers are the four digits on each of your hands—or five if you include your thumb. We use our fingers for holding things, scratching, snapping, finger painting, and much more. Our fingers help us sense the world around us and manipulate or move things. Using your fingers, you can play the piano, speak in sign language, and flash a peace sign by forming a V with your first two fingers. As a verb, this word means to touch something with your fingers: "He nervously fingers his tie as he waits for his job interview." Finger stems from a root word meaning "five."
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.
See Examples For:
“It’s way better here than going to the state hospital. The attention there is awful,” Morales said, happy to get a badly infected pinkie finger treated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on Thursday tapped a former CEO of Walmart to help the U.S. central bank find better ways to keep its finger on the pulse of the U.S. economy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
“There was, at first, anticipation and hopeful excitement that we could put a finger on who, what, where, and why,” said Robert Dickman.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Across the kitchen, one such professional, Pat Clougherty, poured himself a finger of the cloudy beverage, which had been bought in the local supermarket, into a rocks glass.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
I stared at the brief typed words where Lieutenant Rahms’s finger rested.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Metres away, other photographers yelled instructions to ornately dressed young women who held their fingers in victory signs and arched their backs for the camera.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
With his responses, Torres pinpointed the location and was able to touch Gil's fingers.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
“It’s just that I needed more space. So I made a few guitars that widened the headboard” to give his fingers additional room to work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
“By the end of the third test I can’t feel my fingers — but it’s worth it!” said Asia Mendez, a trainee-stenographer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
She dug her fingers into the moss, plucked out another pebble, and tossed it in the river.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
"It's more a theme park than a shopping mall," Germany supporter Michael Karg, 48, said as he fingered through an A-Z list of restaurants on a digital directory.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
So it didn't take long for Mr Freeman – legally known as Desmond Filby – to be fingered as the alleged culprit.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2025
And it fingered Diana Teran, its own constitutional policing advisor, as the source of the leak, even though Teran was the one who’d initially reported it and denied passing along the information.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2024
And while a species commonly known as "the rat flea" has been fingered as the main culprit in plague outbreaks, a species known as "the human flea" may play a secondary role.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2024
The others drifted away, and Bud fingered the lock on the satchel.
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
Other remaining brand-name correspondents, including the ageless Lesley Stahl, for a while were feared to be fingering their rip cords too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
"I tend now to play parts of chords, rather than fingering the whole damn thing. I use these shortcuts that would be a nightmare for a guitar teacher."
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2023
For more than a decade, scientists have debated which animals alive today hail from that earliest sister, fingering two phyla as the most likely candidates: sponges and comb jellies.
From Science Magazine ● May 17, 2023
She had a leopard scarf elegantly wrapped around her head and was fingering a glittering ring and staring blankly into the distance.
From Reuters ● Feb. 7, 2023
NOTE: In some woodwinds, such as the clarinet , the upper "octave" may actually be the third harmonic rather than the second, which complicates the fingering patterns of these instruments.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
