thumbnail

American  

[thuhm-neyl] / ˈθʌmˌneɪl /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of thumbnail

First recorded in 1595–1605; thumb + nail

Example Sentences

For each featured book, there’s a thumbnail portrait of its author, an image of the cover and one or two other intriguing visuals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

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

For video Stories, you might be able to view a static thumbnail, with no hope of recovering the rest of the footage.

From Slate • Oct. 6, 2024

To distinguish between more innocuous cases of narcissism and the literally dangerous varieties, Durvasula offered a thumbnail test: "Narcissists who are narcissistic do feel remorse," Durvasula said.

From Salon • May 20, 2024

The woman stood in front of the gas heater and picked the dirt from under her thumbnail with the third finger of her other hand.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin