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

Then using the pushpin thumbtack, poke holes up and down the bag.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2023

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

One of his fellow riders joked that if there had been a thumbtack on his bike seat, it might have felt better.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 28, 2017

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

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

From Washington Times ● Aug. 28, 2023

These metatheatrical maneuvers at the beginning and end of “Ava” seem as if they were added last minute with thumbtacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 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

The audience — yet Kemper’s no-nonsense pixie who suffers a dozen thumbtacks to the face runs a close second.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2021

She thumbtacks the photos to the bulletin board over her desk and Scotch tapes them to the walls of her room.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood