ring finger

American

noun

the finger next to the little finger, especially of the left hand, on which an engagement ring or wedding band is traditionally worn.

ring finger British

noun

the third finger, esp of the left hand, on which a wedding ring is traditionally worn

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

ring fingers

plural

Etymology

Origin of ring finger

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.

See Examples For:

ring finger

Digit ratio compares the length of the index finger, known as 2D, with the length of the ring finger, known as 4D.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

Emi Martinez needed his right ring finger taped and treated in the warm-up - evoking memories of Nigel Spink replacing Jimmy Rimmer after just nine minutes in the '82 final.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

Ironically, considering her profession, she is missing her left ring finger, a loss that is noted several times but cannily goes unexplained.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025

On Saturday, after she nodded yes, he slipped the ring on her left-hand ring finger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2025

His left hand with a gold band around his ring finger.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023