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.

“He is thumbing his nose at transparency requirements, his constituents and the public,” Spaulding said.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2023

Do you think it’s fair to say that Elon Musk is thumbing his nose at those hundred years of rules of the road, by the way he tweets?

From Slate • Apr. 9, 2022

“What he’s really doing is thumbing his nose at Congress, who said these punishments were too harsh,” said Mr. Hopwood, Mr. Maxwell’s lawyer who helped develop the First Step Act.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2020

“The government is thumbing its nose at everybody,” says Richard Weir, an investigator on Burma for Human Rights Watch.

From Washington Post • Jan. 21, 2018

The pious old man who is thumbing the book is displaying his Talmudic erudition to his hearers.

From The Strand Magazine, Volume XXVII, Issue 160, April, 1904 by Various