thimble

American  

[thim-buhl] / ˈθɪm bəl /

noun

1. a small cap, usually of metal, worn over the fingertip to protect it when pushing a needle through cloth in sewing.

2. Mechanics. any of various similar devices or attachments.

3. Nautical. a metal ring with a concave groove on the outside, used to line the outside of a ring of rope forming an eye.

4. a sleeve of sheet metal passing through the wall of a chimney, for holding the end of a stovepipe or the like.

5. a thimble-shaped printing element with raised characters on the exterior: used in a type of electronic typewriter or computer printer thimbleprinter.

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thimble British  

/ ˈθɪmbəl /

noun

1. a cap of metal, plastic, etc, used to protect the end of the finger when sewing

2. any small metal cap resembling this

3. nautical a loop of metal having a groove at its outer edge for a rope or cable, for lining the inside of an eye

4. short for thimbleful

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Other Word Forms

• thimblelike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of thimble

before 1000; Middle English thym ( b ) yl, Old English thȳmel; akin to Old Norse thumall thumb of a glove. See thumb, -le

Explanation

A thimble is a device that protects your fingertips from being pricked by a needle. It's a good idea to use a thimble when you're sewing by hand. When you sew with a needle and thread, you can wear a thimble on whichever finger you tend to use for pushing the needle through the cloth. Most thimbles are made of metal (originally they were made from leather) and fit like a small cup over your fingertip. The word thimble shares a root with the word thumb.

Example Sentences

A piece of Fern’s called out societal expectations that a woman “unobtrusively gather up her thimble and, retiring into some out-of-the-way place, gradually scoop out her coffin with it.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

For all its suffocating air of unease, “Keeper” is as deep as a thimble, having little to say about relationships, toxic men or anything else.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025

She recently helped assess a silver thimble found in a field in Flintshire by metal detectorists which was then declared treasure.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2025

Next to that, Charlotte's pudge paranoia is a thimble of that bone broth she forlornly sucks down in her quick weight-loss quest.

From Salon • Aug. 6, 2023

Her needle made little clicking sounds against her thimble and then the thread went softly, swish! through the pretty calico that Pa had traded furs for.

From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder