trigger finger

American  

noun

1. any finger, usually the forefinger, that presses the trigger of a gun.

2. either forefinger, depending on which hand is dominant.

3. Pathology. difficulty in straightening or bending a ring finger, caused by inflammation and thickening of its tendon.

---

Etymology

Origin of trigger finger

First recorded in 1820–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

trigger finger

And Wall Street had better not get me started on “exponential”—my TI trigger finger is itchy.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

Netflix has gone from saving canceled shows to axing series like “1899” after a single season, like an old-time broadcaster with an itchy trigger finger.

From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2023

Biathletes must be able to feel their trigger finger to shoot accurately, but that’s a challenge in the cold, Marketa Davidova of the Czech Republic said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2022

Cardona’s Papa Calaca, macho and sinister yet singing and bantering, is the one who directs Quixote to Rosario’s, where Pancho Villa’s pickled trigger finger is kept in a jar.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2021

I remember standing at an end window of our Quonset hut for a very long time, looking oid at the slanting, dreary rain, my trigger finger itching imperceptibly, if at all.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger