fingerpick

[fing-ger-pik]

noun

1. a plectrum.worn on the finger.

verb (used with object)

1. to play (an instrument, especiallya guitar or banjo) by plucking its strings with the fingers or a fingerpick.

verb (used without object)

1. to play a stringed instrument using the fingers or a fingerpick.

Other Word Forms

• fingerpicker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fingerpick¹

First recorded in 1890–95; finger ( def. ) + pick ² ( def. ) for the noun sense, finger ( def. ) + pick ¹ ( def. ) for the verb senses

Example Sentences

After that, he used a fingerpick on his pinkie to strum the guitar.

From Washington Post

The company claimed it could conduct its tests on just a few drops of blood obtained from a fingerpick, and sold them to consumers through wellness clinics in dozens of Walgreens stores in Arizona and one in California.

From Washington Post

There’s only one person in the world who can say he taught John Lennon to fingerpick guitar, appeared in “Don’t Look Back” as Bob Dylan’s backstage foil and wrote “Sunshine Superman” — and that would be Donovan.

From Seattle Times

Flea did not tone down his trademark fingerpick funk style one iota.

From Seattle Times