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thumbtack

[ thuhm-tak ]
/ ˈθʌmˌtæk /
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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.

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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. 2023

How to use thumbtack in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for thumbtack

thumbtack
/ (ˈθʌmˌtæk) /

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
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