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.

Valerie’s career is a long curtsy to declining standards and compromises; her 2014 journey thumbed its nose at the town’s prestige-chasing.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

In October, I thumbed through snapshots my mother had stashed in albums, envelopes and shoeboxes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

To ready her body, she ordered in Japanese last night, then had somebody administer an IV vitamin drip as she thumbed through an issue of the New Yorker.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2025

Guests thumbed through the order of service, which one Muslim guest in the pews said was “very helpful” for navigating the Christian ceremony.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2024

However, just for the heck of it, he wiggled his bent Sidney's out of his coat pocket, thumbed to ostrich comma male-female, old-young, sick-well, mint-used, and inspected the prices.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick