thumbnail

American  

[thuhm-neyl] / ˈθʌmˌneɪl /

noun

• thumbnails
  plural

1. the nail of the thumb.

2. anything quite small or brief, as a small drawing or short essay.

3. Printing. a small, rough dummy.

4. Also called porkchop.  Journalism, Printing. a half-column portrait in a newspaper.

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adjective

1. quite small or brief; concise.

   a thumbnail description of Corsica.

verb (used with object)

1. to make a thumbnail sketch or description of.

thumbnail British  

/ ˈθʌmˌneɪl /

noun

1. the nail of the thumb

2. (modifier) concise and brief

   a thumbnail sketch

3. computing a small image which can be expanded

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thumbnails
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thumbnail

First recorded in 1595–1605; thumb + nail

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thumbnail thumbnails

The thumbnail shows a smiling teen holding oversized shopping bags.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

The devices created in Lozano's lab are about the size of a thumbnail.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026

Gensler’s daughter created the show’s thumbnail art; his son-in-law built its website.

From Barron's ● Apr. 18, 2026

But the movie’s verité style of thumbnail portraiture doesn’t always dovetail neatly with the other elements: the unloading of facts, getting those drone shots in and projecting a thriller-like atmosphere.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025

Nel found a thick twig and, with her thumbnail, pulled away its bark until it was stripped to a smooth, creamy innocence.

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

If you’ve spent even a short while scrolling through YouTube looking for investing content, you’ve seen them—video thumbnails with illustrated flames and maybe a downward pointing arrow warning about the end times.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

On some occasions, these “faceless” creators have openly boasted about their monetization strategies and how they use A.I. tools to generate thumbnails and titles and even automate their entire workflow.

From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2025

“There are certain things you can do with thumbnails to just get clicks, which we’re not interested in,” says Floris Bauer, co-founder and president of Gunpowder & Sky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2023

“If you’re interested in cooking, you don’t want thumbnails on light jazz,” he said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2023

We hunt fleas and squash them between our thumbnails.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt