thumbtack

American  

[thuhm-tak] / ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

• thumbtacks
  plural

1. 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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to attach or tack by means of a thumbtack.

thumbtack British  

/ ˈθʌmˌtæk /

noun

1. Also called (esp in Britain): drawing pin. a short tack with a broad smooth head for fastening papers to a drawing board, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thumbtacks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of thumbtack

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; thumb + tack ¹

Compare meaning

How does thumbtack compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• thumbtack vs. pushpin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thumbtack thumbtacks

First, punch a small hole in the middle of one of the cards using a thumbtack or a pin.

From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

Returning to the thumbtack analogy, Polikanov said the molecule sits on its ribosome seat with such force that it drives the tack into the chair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

In 2017, BuzzFeed News reported a long list of stomach-churning discoveries: A woman unearthed a thumbtack in her Cheerios, and a man bit down on a bone from his box of Frosted Mini-Wheats.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2021

You might even wish to write down what you feel, laminate it and thumbtack it to a free-standing bulletin board for all to see.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2018

Lexie scanned the living room: only a few throw pillows stacked on the carpet, bare walls now except for some stray thumbtack holes in the plaster.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

They’ve come to this cesspool to find the villainous Krem, an unrecognizably vile Matthias Schoenaerts with a mug that’s been pierced all over like he face-planted into a pile of thumbtacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

This summer’s Tour de France was also troubled by thumbtacks tossed on the road.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

While we are on ravioli, even if they are stuffed with thumbtacks and rusty pennies, they are better than spaghetti.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2023

If Run the Jewels are the polemicist poets facing America’s racial reckoning with six-foot-high spray-painted lettering, Clipping’s members are the academics connecting the horrors of the country’s past with thumbtacks and string.

From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2020

They stuffed this around the doorjamb and fixed it over the knotholes with thumbtacks borrowed from the Fujitas.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson