thumbs-up

[thuhmz-uhp]

noun

Informal.

1. an act, instance, or gesture of assent, approval, or the like.

thumbs up

1. Expressions of approval and disapproval respectively: “The two critics disagreed about the movie; one gave it thumbs up, the other thumbs down.” In the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome, a thumbs-up gesture from the crowd meant that the loser would live; thumbs down meant death.

Word History and Origins

Origin of thumbs up¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Idioms and Phrases

An expression of approval or hopefulness, as in The town said thumbs up on building the elderly housing project. The antonym thumbs down indicates disapproval or rejection, as in Mother gave us thumbs down on serving beer at our party. Alluding to crowd signals used in Roman amphitheaters, these idioms were first recorded in English about 1600. In ancient times the meaning of the gestures was opposite that of today. Thumbs down indicated approval; thumbs up, rejection. Exactly when the reversal occurred is not known, but the present conventions were established by the early 1900s.

Example Sentences

One showed Russian President Vladimir Putin flashing a thumbs-up with the slogan “no nuclear, yes gas.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 2024 American League All-Star gave a thumbs-up signal as he was being driven off the field.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“He responded with an ‘lol’ and a thumbs-up emoji.

Read more on Slate

Nuno took to the pitch at full-time and clapped and gave a thumbs-up to fans, who responded with chants of 'Nuno, Nuno, Nuno'.

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Their family camping trip gets a big thumbs-up from six-year-old Poppy: "I just really like coming with my friends and family. I just really like sleeping in a tent, even though my dad really wants a caravan."

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