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• thumbs-up
  thumbs-up

  noun

  an act, instance, or gesture of assent, approval, or the like.
• thumbs up
  thumbs up

  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.

thumbs-up

American  

[thuhmz-uhp] / ˈθʌmzˈʌp /

noun

Informal.

thumbs-ups plural

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

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thumbs up Cultural  

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.

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thumbs up Idioms  

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thumbs-ups
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thumbs-up

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Some stopped him for pictures as he beamed down the camera and flashed a thumbs-up.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

The two men posed, grinning and giving a thumbs-up, for a photo that was posted to Graham’s X account.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Hato's half-volley from just inside the area whistled into the top corner, earning the teenage defender a thumbs-up from Rosenior.

From Barron's • Jan. 10, 2026

One parachutist—a slim, blue-eyed 22-year-old named Hannah Senesh—gave a thumbs-up, walked calmly to the edge of the hatch and jumped.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025

Jam gave her a thumbs-up and then reached across the kitchen island to dap Beloved, who’d reached his fist out from behind his sketchpad, his glasses slipping down his nose.

From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi