middle finger
Americannoun
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the finger between the forefinger and the third finger.
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Slang. an obscene gesture of contempt made by pointing this finger upward while folding the other fingers against the palm; the finger.
The driver honked his horn and got the middle finger from the biker.
Usage
What else does middle finger mean? Giving someone the middle finger is an offensive gesture in which a person flips up their middle finger in a fist to show contempt or defiance.
Etymology
Origin of middle finger
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English
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.
While she wasn't able to capture one of the men pointing his middle finger at her sister, she did manage to record the driver opening the door and shouting at them.
From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026
Here, she discusses her self-talk in the mirror, the significance of her Mason jar and the giant middle finger on her closet floor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and touches the forefinger and middle finger of his right hand to his lips.
From Salon • Sep. 7, 2025
“They’re taking creative liberty with the facts and deciding to give a jury of Trevor Kirk’s peers the middle finger and it should not be tolerated,” she told The Times.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2025
On the middle finger, the grey had crept up past the second knuckle.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
