middle finger

American  

[mid-l fing-ger] / ˈmɪd l ˈfɪŋ gər /

noun

1. the finger between the forefinger and the third finger.

2. 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.

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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

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre could face disciplinary action at the Masters after he directed a middle finger at the 15th green during a quadruple bogey.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Several shared memes of Mr. Bean giving the middle finger, likening Iranian retaliatory attacks on the Gulf to the bumbling comedic character.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

"The key to the wobble seam is to have your fingers and wrist right behind the ball and release the ball off your middle finger," Gillespie says.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2026

She will also use that mobile, 3-inch-long middle finger to reach right into her nasal cavity almost all the way to the back of her throat.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

The nail on his middle finger had turned as black as jet, he saw, and the grey had crept up almost to the first knuckle.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin