thumbscrew

[ thuhm-skroo ]

noun

a screw, the head of which is so constructed that it may be turned easily with the thumb and a finger.
Often thumbscrews. an old instrument of torture by which one or both thumbs were compressed.

Origin of thumbscrew

First recorded in 1705–15; thumb + screw

Words Nearby thumbscrew

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use thumbscrew in a sentence

The DUO 24 dumps hook-and-loop fastening in favor of an adhesive plate system for affixing users’ pedals to the board’s surface using thumbscrews.
Best pedalboard: Keep all your favorite effects secure and organized | Jay Cabrera | August 24, 2021 | Popular-Science
An ordinary thumbscrew or eye can be used which, by a turn or two, will either release it or fasten it in place.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 | Various
It would be a trifle easier to face the rack and thumbscrew, eh?
Mrs. Red Pepper | Grace S. Richmond
Is it the same Christian religion that founded the Inquisition and invented the thumbscrew?
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 6 (of 12) | Robert G. Ingersoll
Sowles looked fully capable of loosing a full-fledged Inquisition, complete with rack and thumbscrew, at Cam's well-barbered head.
Telempathy | Vance Simonds

Whereon the bloated tyrant sent his prætorians, and enforced payment by scourge and thumbscrew?
Froude's History of England | Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for thumbscrew

thumbscrew

/ (ˈθʌmˌskruː) /

noun

an instrument of torture that pinches or crushes the thumbs
a screw with projections on its head enabling it to be turned by the thumb and forefinger

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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