thumbs-up

American  

[thuhmz-uhp] / ˈθʌmzˈʌp /

noun

Informal.

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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Etymology

Origin of thumbs-up

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Margarita Aaron, the actor’s wife, told Fox News and TMZ on Monday that her husband is “making significant progress” in his recovery, making minor body movements including opening his eyes and giving a thumbs-up.

From Los Angeles Times

Door smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

From Literature

Coal gave him a thumbs-up and a smirk that was meant to indicate he was getting nowhere and could everyone please not ask about it.

From Literature

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

There was also an attempt to keep the character going, to play on the empathy of the audience, watching a guy who, in another context, might greet you with a thumbs-up and say “Happy New Year.”

From Slate