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.

I had thumbed through my old passport countless times while waiting to board flights or in endless security lines.

From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2020

The Times had been slow to adapt to the emergence of new digital platforms; it had thumbed its nose at the internet and thus the future.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2019

It was as if the replicators had thumbed the scales against the pen-in-mouth effect.

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2016

Zhang Xuezhong, one of two lawyers defending Liu, said the authorities had thumbed their noses at legal procedure ahead of the trial, which boded badly for the case.

From Reuters • Oct. 27, 2013

His companion, a dull-witted older boy by the name of Edmund, had thumbed his nose at me, putting me more out of temper.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein