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Synonyms

lay a finger on

Idioms  

  1. Also, put a finger on. Barely touch, as in You'd better not lay a finger on those documents! or If you lay a finger on me, I'll sue. This expression is nearly always used as a prohibition. [Mid-1800s] Also see put one's finger on.

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.

Bournemouth slaughtered them and they didn't lay a finger on Bayern Munich in a game they had to win.

From BBC • Dec. 14, 2023

But it didn’t lay a finger on the underlying disease.

From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2023

He told Haaretz in 2017 that he had lectured his troops “not to lay a finger on an old man, a woman or a child.”

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2022

The first player to reach for him was George Wolo, but Curtis was gone in a blur before Wolo could lay a finger on him.

From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2021

We drove back to Eden Park together, and for years, nothing—for years Abel didn’t lay a finger on her.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

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.