thumbtack

[thuhm-tak]

See more synonyms for thumbtack on Thesaurus.com

noun

a tack with a large, flat head, designed to be thrust into a board or other fairly soft object or surface by the pressure of the thumb.

verb (used with object)

to attach or tack by means of a thumbtack.

Origin of thumbtack

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; thumb + tack¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for thumbtack

point, nail, staple, pushpin, brad, thumbtack, fastener, tack

Examples from the Web for thumbtack

Historical Examples of thumbtack

The latter she suspended by a thumbtack beside the mirror of her bureau.
Out of the Air
Inez Haynes Irwin
She took the miniature, thumbtack and all, from the wall, 183 and put it in her wrist bag.
Out of the Air
Inez Haynes Irwin
A thumbtack is inserted in the standard near the top to prevent the box from being lifted entirely from the base.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2
Various
Lay the stencil pattern in position and thumbtack it down to the cheese cloth and blotting paper.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft
Effie Archer Archer
If knives are used to cut out the design, thumbtack the leather before commencing.
The Library of Work and Play: Needlecraft
Effie Archer Archer

British Dictionary definitions for thumbtack

thumbtack

noun

mainly US and Canadian a short tack with a broad smooth head for fastening papers to a drawing board, etcAlso called (esp in Britain): drawing pin

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

Word Origin and History for thumbtack

tack with a broad, flat head which may be driven by pressure from the thumb, 1884, from thumb (n.) + tack (n.1).