middle finger

American  

[mid-l fing-ger] / ˈmɪd l ˈfɪŋ gər /

noun

middle fingers plural

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• middle fingers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of middle finger

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English

Example Sentences

In response, Ntshavheni said 84-year-old Zuma "continues to show a middle finger and claim that he wants to run this country again".

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

Mid-vows, “Madonna jabbed her middle finger upward,” J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote in “Madonna: An Intimate Biography.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026

As someone who has hyper-specific playlists to regulate my moods, I appreciate that whether you want to party, chill outside or brandish your middle finger to the world, the Salon DJ Collective has you covered.

From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026

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

The future Reverend, skidding on his heels, rigid with fear, applied his terrified lips to the ring on the Patriarch’s middle finger, leaving it wet with spit.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy